Some Other Flaws

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2006)

I'm not sure if this is a "spoiler", but be warned that it describes the ending.
These are H.G. Wells' fault, really. If the Martians buried their machines millennia ago, why didn't they just populate the earth then, when resistance-- indeed humans-- would be weak or non-existent? How could they have studied us "coldly" for, what, millions of years and been unaware of microorganisms and their possible deleterious effects? Why not activate just one of the machines, destroy, say, Washington DC, and wait a few weeks to see if things went well. You'd lose the element of surprise, but so what?
They must have been pretty confident in their superior technology. Still, to go exploring on an alien planet, in the midst of an invasion, without body armor or hand-held weapons seems foolhardy.