Quite an experience

Rating: 9/10 (30 June 2005)

War of the Worlds is an alien invasion movie unlike no other. Most movies of this kind tend to show the story from multiple perspectives, and explain everything that's going on. Not with this one. The movie rarely (if ever) leaves the eyes of Ray Ferrier, the reluctant father who has to protect his kids from the alien menace. The story is therefore tighter and you get a better sense of what Ray's feeling. The movie sort of reminded me of Dawn of the Dead in that the plot rarely explains the background of the invaders or what is going on, but rather sticks to the protagonists' struggle to survive an event that changes their lives in just moments. Having said that, War of the Worlds is certainly the best alien invasion movie I've seen so far because it truly portrays the terror and confusion one would feel in such an event.
Never before has an alien invasion movie creeped me out like this one. The tripod aliens are terrifying to behold, not only because they look so real (kudos to the SFX department), but because their design, their movement, and what they do to human beings is enough to make you shiver when they show up on screen. In the initial scenes, you have to wonder why the people on the streets stare up at the massive alien instead of run for their lives. Believe me, once you see these aliens, and imagine yourself in such a situation, you'd probably stand and stare in awe too. In Independence Day, I just didn't feel that when people on the streets stared at the alien UFO. In this movie, I certainly did.
Despite what you might think, this isn't your typical epic disaster movie. There are some pretty lengthy scenes that take place underground, when Ray and his two kids seek refuge from their oppressors. I found the underground scene with Oglivy to be very unique as there is nearly no dialogue throughout the whole thing. Spielberg also does an excellent job showing the animal-like behavior humans degenerate into in the event of a disaster like this. One of the more shocking scenes was when Ray, driving the only working vehicle in the area, is surrounded by a horde of desperate people. As shocking as it was, it was a realistic showing of how easy it is for civilized people to devolve in terms of their behavior.
The performances are pretty good. Tom Cruise proves that he can play a variety of characters, and as Ray Ferrier he portrays him as a bit of a jerk of a father who still tries his best to be a good parent. After the initial alien attack, he returns home and his portrayal at shock and confusion is excellent here. Dakota Fanning also puts in a phenomenal performance as a rather spoilt little girl who unfortunately has to witness the violence going on around her. Although her non-stop screaming and whining annoyed me at times, you have to admire such a young thing for being able to put in a performance that transcends the acting abilities of her age group.
The film did have some awkward moments, though. Ray and his son get into heated arguments in the strangest occasions, and I really felt the film would have done better without the son because he was acting like a prick the whole time. The ending also comes rather suddenly, too, and it would have been nice if there was a little more resolution afterwards. I've read that people thought the ending was 'ridiculous' or 'laughable', but honestly I don't see anything about it that was strange. You be the judge.
Overall this is a viscereal, hard hitting film. It isn't your typical epic that mainstream audiences will like, because of how it focuses on a single character the whole time, and thus lacks some of the more grand, epic action scenes that has become an expectation of these films so far. War of the Worlds is something different to watch--an alien invasion movie that induces a sense of terror like no other. Watch it with an open mind.