A really good, so close to great it hurts, popcorn flick

Rating: 8/10 (3 July 2005)

I rated WOTW an 8 out of 10. I really enjoyed it. Basing it on the 1953 George Pal flick, I thought it was nearly as good, taking into account the f/x of the new vs. the old. The key 'redone' scene at the farmhouse was actually more exciting then the original, in my opinion. And the makers did a decent job in updating it from the original. Making Tom Cruise a part time Dad was good, as it seems to reach back to ET, when there was no Dad in the film. Here, he could be that Dad. And keeping it simple, isolating a small family, rather then concentrating on the military, as was done in Independence Day, made for a much more suspenseful film. Although, I would have liked to have seen a much more detailed battle in the countryside with the military, like in the original film. But at least they stayed away from nukes. The fact that there were only quick meetings with the Army worked though. That the son wanted to join the fight was a bit contrived, IMO, because he didn't seem to show those tendencies early on. In fact he seemed to be more aloof and alone in his solitude at the beginning. Of course, we only met him when he was dropped off for the weekend, so there could be a little more to him, but I just got the feeling he wasn't really like that, or his character wasn't fleshed out enough to want to see him join up. The biggest letdown was the ending. I just knew SS wouldn't allow the son to die, and I thought this was the BIGGEST detraction of the film. Thinking about the death in hindsight, no major character dies, ( Tim Robbins was not a major character, a mere cameo, unnecessary at that. More on that in a bit). Because of the fact that no one of record dies, it's hard to imagine Ray ever growing up, or learning anything about family etc. The fact that only a couple of minor characters die on film really doesn't allow us to build up any rage at being invaded. This is where the original film really brought us in. The audience were witness to several key deaths that brought them into the film. And the other big detraction, the crazy cameo! Who was that masked man! An ambulance driver? An AWOL soldier? A death row pervert who managed to escape? I couldn't figure it out! Maybe all three. He was an unnecessary addition to an otherwise well done farm house scene. The fact that Ray had to kill him, (off screen, so did he really? Or maybe he just gagged him, knowing he would have to leave him for dead), did nothing for his character. You think it would, and the fact that it was done behind closed doors, would give you a new more mature Ray, but I didn't get that feeling. I got nothing out of it. Otherwise the updated farmhouse was great. Technically, the film was a marvel. It's so nice to see so many f/x shots of this magnitude done in daylight. WOTW puts ID4 and the like to shame in that manner, and I really enjoyed ID4 on that level. The first attack on Jersey and the final Boston fight were fantastic, nary a glitch on first viewing. And the set up in the basement leading to the scene of the downed aircraft was really exciting, I wasn't expecting a crashed jet, and what a set piece that was. All-in-all a really good , so close to great, popcorn flick. and I will probably see it again in the theaters, and it will definitely be an addition to my getting-so-huge-my-wife-is-complaining-about-it DVD collection. (At least it takes up a heck of a lot less room then my 20+ years of VHS collecting.