War of the Worlds: A War of Inept Film-making

Rating: 3/10 (30 June 2005)

This film is just another in a long line of failed blockbusters, only this time, it's headed by the biggest and some say best director of our time. While that may be true, his films since Schindler's List have been in stark contrast with the films he directed before that film. Even Jurassic Park from the same year was an amazing piece of action and adventure directing from a man who basically invented the summer blockbuster. But since his very personal film in Schindler, the man has changed. He has become "The Beard," and I don't really like where he's headed.
Spoiler Warning!
This movie is a mindfuck of blasé film-making. I could go into lengthy paragraph after lengthy paragraph on the matter, but let's get to the heart of the matter instead. The big problems include:
1) The humans are never able to mount an offensive against the aliens, essentially rendering the entire film a chase movie until blind luck finds its way to the human side. 2) Dakota Fanning screams throughout the entire film. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say she was the definite lovechild of Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, as she pretty much acts like Capshaw's character in Temple of Doom. 3) The music blows -- a lackluster performance from John Williams all around (and it's not often you can say that about the man.) 4) This film attempts to be a drama/horror film, something that Spielberg is much less adept at than, say, adventure. This film could've been a great adventure film, but Spielberg really went the Signs route here (except it's much much more boring and banal.) 5) The aliens are lame and they aren't scary at all. What kind of retro nonsense is that Tripod design, anyway? 6) There are literally three lines of humorous material. And since the action/adventure isn't there, this one is a total snooze because of it. Oh, and the line about the terrorists from Fanning is groan-inducing. 7) Kaminski, the cinematographer, really needs to get out in the sun a bit more. His blue motif is wearing thin for me these days and it's really bogging down Spielberg as a director in my opinion as well (this is the guy who Spielberg has used ever since Schindler's List, and it shows. Spielberg used to bounce back and forth between many cinematographers because he wanted his own vision moreso than someone else's. But Kaminski has changed that and it's a shame to see the majority of Spielberg's films these days feel so cold and heartless.) 8) The action pieces are crappy at best. 9) The decision to stay with just Cruise for the entire film doesn't work at all. Whereas in Signs, at least the characters were semi-interesting, but we don't have that here. Cruise, his daughter, and his son are paper-thin in terms of character development. 10) The biggest problem lies in #1, and the result is a very lackluster ending. The aliens don't get beat by humans, but rather by a derivative plot device. Then Spielberg tries to turn on the tears, and the result is uncharacteristically flat and empty.
This is Spielberg's worst movie since The Lost World. And it feels very much the same in terms of shoddy character development, lame plot, and poor characterization. Just like I asked when I reviewed that film, where is the wonder and excitement from earlier in Spielberg's career? I'm very disappointed in the direction that Spielberg is taking his film-making these days, and frankly, I'm starting to look forward to other directors' projects (like King Kong by Peter Jackson, for example) much moreso than his at this point. I grew up with the kind and wonderful aliens of Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind and E.T. and now I'm given a very jaded opposition to those films in War of the Worlds. At least A.I. made me think. This film doesn't even allow me to turn on my brain.
I'm sorry you've become so disenchanted with your films and the world itself, but there's no reason to take it out on the rest of us, Steven.
Sincerely, An Old Fan
P.S. Independence Day blew your film away by miles, sir.