A "War of the Worlds" to remember!

Rating: 8/10 (14 May 2006)

Every aspect of this project was handled with the utmost perfection. Spielberg has taken the core outline of the H.G. Wells novel, a man seeking to reunite with his wife, and given us something even more compelling. Tom Cruise, in this updated story, is left with the daunting task of transporting his two children to safety amidst the chaotic devastation being wrought by bloodthirsty invaders from space. A great many critical people, it would seem to that effect, had a problem with this change. More directly, these individuals took an instant dislike towards Dakota Fanning and her constant screaming throughout the movie. Certain viewers apparently found her demeanor "annoying" and "unrealistic." Allow me, if I may, to take a rather fair look at that and offer my own sensible input. Consider the possibility that we were invaded on such a vast scale. Can anybody honestly show me one child of Dakota's age that wouldn't be in hysterics over what was happening? I didn't think so. Children, we tend to forget, are not adults. They frighten far easier than somebody much later in life and, taking into account that nobody within this story knew what to expect from one moment to the next.
And let us not forget the tripods! Finally, for the first time, we have actual alien tripod war-machines as precise and accurate as H.G. Wells envisioned them. These machines make this movie the utterly effective and terrifying experience that it is. From the moment they are introduced, we are never fully able to shake the image of sheer destruction they leave in their wake. And that, of course, leads me to my next line of discussion. What exactly is with all these constant attacks on the backstory with the tripods? They were, as we learn in the film, planted within the earth 10,000 years in the past. Certain viewers seem to feel the invaders should have therefore planned their attack around a timeframe where we humans had zero means of defending ourselves. Why? What difference would that make? Read whatever you want into this, but I personally do not find the idea of alien invaders nuking a bunch of neanderthals all that enticing. Nobody among us saw the 9/11 attacks before they happened. That assault, in as much the same vein as the invasion within this "War," literally came out of nowhere. So many disgruntled viewers who saw this unfold also seem to believe they needed the reason why we were being invaded spoon-fed to them. I have to mention this because I've stumbled across this subject in several other reviews written by people who claim their enjoyment was dampered by this specific lack of information. This silliness only begs me to revisit the scenario I posed here earlier. So allow me to ask everyone again, who may be reading this, what they would do in the midst of an actual invasion. Would any of you really care in the end why aliens from outer space were reducing your friends and neighbors to smoldering ash, or would you be more concerned with ducking for cover like everyone else? I honestly do not mind the fact that we all form our own opinions about different genres of film. That diversity, after all, is part of what makes us the unique individuals we are. But, if somebody insists on negating any specific portion of the particular film they happen to be watching, they should probably ensure beforehand that their gripe is steeped in some manner of common sense.
The same can also be said for all these Cruise-bashers who are somehow finding an altogether stupid means of working Scientology into this movie. I thought many of the reasons people were slamming it were pathetic enough on their own, but this one tops them all! Can somebody please explain to me why the fact Tom Cruise embraces Scientology should have anything to do with "War of the Worlds?" I personally do not care about or buy into anything regarding this brand of rhetoric. If I did, I would never have bothered paying to see this movie in the first place. What an actor does in his private life is completely and totally secondary to whether or not he can make me believe and invest in what I am seeing on the screen. Why is it that so many of us fail to recognize that? If somebody despises Tom Cruise to such an extreme degree, logic should dictate that they do not waste their money or time with any of his projects.
Now, I could easily take this line of banter much farther. But I will instead leave you to make whatever conclusions you choose upon experiencing this spectacular movie for yourself. You cannot afford to fall into the trap of trying to compare it to the novel or the 1952 film. If you can simply try and enjoy this movie for what it is on its own merits, you will definitely find yourself having a better time. This is, after all, Steven Spielberg we're talking about. The man clearly knows what he's doing! He, however, is not the only one who should be commended. I must also tip my hat to everyone who contributed to the phenomenal special effects. Watching Tom Cruise running for his life, coated with the ashy remains of people who weren't so lucky, was nothing short of exhilarating! This standout scene early on in the story, like so many others this amazing film had to its credit, worked me over to the point where I was literally on the edge of my seat. When a movie can do that to me, I know my money was well spent.