E.T. Phones Back ... With a Vengeance!

Rating: 7/10 (28 October 2008)

Being a gigantic fan-boy of 50's nostalgia and particularly the cinematic Sci-Fi milestones this decade brought forward, I was rather reluctant at first to check out the new and improved (read: massively budgeted) version of HG. Wells' legendary novel "The War of the Worlds". The 1953 original is a brilliant film and, in my humble opinion, still perfectly able to petrify any type of viewer, so  like most nowadays remakes  it would be a completely redundant film only intended for young kids that refuse to watch movies in black & white. Most of all I was concerned that the emphasis would lay too much on the expensive computer-engineered effects and the good looks of star Tom Cruise, whereas the original primarily revolved on the portrayal of mass hysteria and growing desperation amongst the earthly population. Well I love to be proved wrong; especially when it comes to prejudices I have towards Sci-Fi and horror movies. Steven Spielberg handles the material very well and doesn't lose the grip on suspense in favor of sentiment, which admittedly I feared would happen. Tom Cruise doesn't depict a savior type of character, but an average kind of guy with several issues of his own, who now suddenly becomes forced to forget everything and save his children. Just when his ex-wife requests Ray to look after their kids, superior creatures from other unspecified worlds attack the entire planet. It starts with a long series of eerie lightening and all electrical and motored equipment breaks down. Subsequently gigantic and super hi-tech advanced tripod monsters emerge from the ground  like they've been buried there since ancient times  and promptly begin with the extermination of the entire human race. Their weapons literally pulverize people, their scouting machinery is a gazillion times more sophisticated than any earthly defense mechanism and in less than a couple of days our planet turns into a wasteland. For the first time his life, Ray will have to take responsibility and escort his estranged offspring to Boston. Steven Spielberg already had quite a bit of experience with alien-movies, but you can hardly compare the concept of "War of the World" with either "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or "E.T." This is first and foremost a haunting tale about invasion and destruction, and there's very little room for sentimental sub plots. The inevitable storyline of Ray slowly bonding with his initially hesitant children is the only emotional content, and actually quite bearable (the forced happy-ending not included). Several sequences are downright fantastic, like all the ones with Tim Robbins (depicting some sort of paranoid hermit) and indescribably spectacular to behold, like the ones where the immense tripods go on their relentless rampages (destroying churches, capsizing ferry boats, etc). Needless to say the use of special and digital effects are as good as flawless. The alien creatures' design is perhaps a bit cheesy, but what the hell, at least their tripods and scouting equipment are breath taking. You could go on and on reviewing the little shortcomings and/or analyzing the hidden symbolism, but it all simply comes down to the fact that "War of the Worlds" is an efficiently made and highly enjoyable popcorn blockbuster movie. Recommended.