'Family Values' meets alien invasion?

Rating: 6/10 (1 July 2005)

I must say that I am one of those people who is tired of seeing 'family values' thrown into every major conceivable plot. It is not that I am anti-family however, it seems that Hollyood today is set on making every movie a Hallmark Channel special plus whatever plot is being pushed in a movie. The Day After Tomorrow is a good example of placing an awkward 'family' twist and placing it into a plot it shouldn't really belong, at least in a major way. And, unfortunately, War of the Worlds makes the same mistake.
Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a somewhat dead-beat dad who can't really take care of his kids. While he plays the role convincingly, I am convinced that this was the wrong role for this movie. I am sorry, I watch a movie like War of the Worlds for destruction, terror, and more destruction. Not a dad attempting to redeem himself in the eyes of his spoiled children. This is where the problems of War of the Worlds being and, again, unfortunately do not correct themselves.
Dakota Fanning, playing a young and impressionable Rachel Ferrier, is the second star of this movie. Though the youngest of the Ferrier children, she is the most memorable and most interesting. Through her reaction (and literally the expression of her eyes) do we feel the impact of the invasion. I can honestly say that Fanning played the most interesting character She was simply more interesting because her reactions, unlike the stale reactions of Ray Ferrier (more on this later) were more realistic for a situation like this. Had this movie been developed and centered mainly around her then perhaps War of the Worlds could have been a better movie.
Justin Chatwin, on the other hand, plays Robbie Ferrier who is the traditional rebellious teen who doesn't want to listen to anyone. Dull and more irritating, Chatwin's character distracts more then adds. Had he been more of a side role then he would have been more interesting. But he's not and thats one of the other problems.
Simply put, War of the Worlds fails because it's concept is placed more on this family then the actual invasion itself. We see more of Ray attempting to babysit his kids then the Aliens themselves. A frustrating situation because this is supposed to be a big CGI summer movie, or so I thought. We see Ray driving across the countryside trying to keep his kids calm while we have little concept of what else is going on around the world besides the sight of refugees wandering around. Then we see Ray run around with his kids from loud explosions and flashes though of course we can't actually see the real fighting. I felt that this was a play off M. Night Shyamalan's 'Signs' in that suspense was built because we couldn't see what was going on. Here it fails.
At one point, Robbie is able to breakaway from Ray and attempt to join the US military in a pitched battle which of course turns into a fiasco. It appears that Robbie is burned to ash and that Ray must cope with losing a son and the emotional effects that always brings.
Here is where the whole family plot of this movie could have redeemed itself. We are led to believe that Robbie is lost, one of countless, to the aliens. However, we learn that he is alive and well and has actually made it to the rest of the family which was what they were trying to do all along. Ray's fears are not realized and they can be one big happy family again.
Sorry, this is bad writing and only deflates this movie further. Had Robbie not survived the Ferriers, along with most everyone else in the world, would of have had to struggle to rebuild their lives. It would have been a more memorable ending for Ray to explain to his former wife how their only son died while there is nothing he could do about it. That he was one of many to be sacrificed to a power and force they will probably never understand.
However, again, this is asking too much.
Is War of the Worlds a bad movie? No. What little we see of the aliens in their tripods, which are impressive, is enjoyable. The scenes of the tripods scooping up humans and vaporizing them is worthwhile, though again it would have been better if we could have seen more of it. And, despite the stale character of Ray Ferrier, his attempts to defend his family are admirable. Rachel is memorable for her reactions as is the rather out of place Tim Robbins who plays a man bent on fighting the war his own way. I wouldn't call this a waste, simply a disappointment.
6 out of 10