Shyamalan syndrome

Rating: 2/10 (25 July 2005)

This movie suffers from what might be called Shyamalan syndrome after the creator of Signs (with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix), although the problem may well have originated with Wells' original version (I haven't read it).
The problem is this: a species of aliens with infinitely superior technology, capable of crossing light-years and possessing weapons of mass destruction that brings the Earth to it's knees are suddenly killed off by a trivial factor. I think the term for this is deus-ex-machina, or god from the machine, where in plays the plot complications would be seemingly hopelessly complicated and some guy playing a god would get lowered down from a crane, point his finger around and tidy everything up. Given the inability of the writers to make a convincing resolution to the complex problems they created, they instead wave a magic wand and *poof* problems solved.
So in Signs, the technologically advanced (albeit slow moving) aliens take over the world but fail to notice that water, which covers 2/3 of the planet, is highly toxic to them. All one needs is a Louisville slugger and a few cleverly-placed glasses of water to defeat the advanced race. In War of the Worlds, they pretty much have the planet toasting like a marshmallow over the barbecue after watching the planet for a million years or so, and then are killed by microorganisms.
Folks, even us humans would be smart enough to look into the microorganism situation if we went to another planet. Maybe send a few probes to check things out, etc. Even a Star Trek expendable-guy-in-the-red-shirt to act like a canary in a coal-mine. Nope, these interstellar travelers just cavalierly marched in, obliviously incinerating things left and right. They probably even left the gas caps unscrewed on the tripods, flicking cigarette ashes out the window while they drove.
The movie was *okay*, the special effects amazing, the 9/11 references disturbing, but the ending was just crap. "Oh yeah, some germs killed them..." I thought Independence Day solution with with the computer virus was a lot more believable. Okay so we have to believe that the aliens to open email attachments, but at least it was creative, even poetic.