War Of The Worlds (DVD)

Ok so you have been waiting to see this film for ages and youve decided to buy it..
Before you spend youre money ask yourself these questions:

Have you seen the origanal War of the worlds?
Have you seen the 2nd and 3rd remakes of this film?
Have you listened to the sound track?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions you are about to be a bit disapointed.

The film has some real obvious flaws, things that are just not part of the story, charachters that arn't the charachters they should be and doing things that others should be doing instead. Confused????? you will be if youve seen the origanal and you watch this.
This is nothing like it should be the aliens land (are born) in a different way, mad people arnt who they should be, the red weed Isn't made from lava???
I understand keeping up with the times has to be done but you can't change the plot to a film.

On the plus side the graphics are great, tripods are origanal but hugely magnificent and the charachters are pretty good at what they do.

On the major down side if you want to hear a little brat screeming for the next 2hrs then be my guest, if you want to see a remake that has takern a turn for the worsed then ok, if you want waste your money on a film thats been modified to the point of changing the basic rules of a story well i think Im gonna leave it there..............

Verdict: save your money, his is the worst tom cruise film ive seen in ages.

Personally I wouldn't watch this film again. Waste of 2 hours in my view. I think its one ofTom Cruise's worst films. For me there was something missing and overall the plot and storyline was very weak.

Only worth watching if you are being forced in my view !!!

PLOT (for those who haven't seen it)
As normal life prevails for Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), suddenly without any warning whatsoever the Earth is invaded by alien tripod fighting machines with no mercy and engage merciless combat upon arrival. Ray must protect himself and his family as they fight for survival.

INTRODUCTION
YOU CAN NOT slag this film off until you know the history of the War of the Worlds. It was not meant to be an action thriller on par with Terminator 2 and Independence Day. There have been 4 versions of this story. The original 1898 HG Wells Novel, then the 1938 radio broadcast by Orsen Wells. Thirdly the Bryon Haskin film version in 1953, and now the Spielberg version in 2005. Believe it or not, the Spielberg version is the most accurate of them all in terms of the novel! I am basing this review on the documentary of the Spielberg version on the DVD, so it is legit and not just my own opinion.

ORIGINAL ASPECT SET FROM 1898 NOVEL
If you just watched it for the action and thriller aspects, then you probably wouldn't have had a very high opinion of it. This is because Spielberg wanted to portray the movie how HG Wells originally intended it to be in his original 1898 novel "The War Of The Worlds". This was in fact SET FROM FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE. An individual's account of how the world falls apart around them when extra-terrestrial life suddenly makes an appearance into everyday life. Notice in the Spielberg version how there are no flash news reports and 3rd person perspectives (such as the war scene) as seen previously in the 1953 Bryon Haskin version (the one where the martians are floating cobra-style warships). Infact I would challenge you to point out any bits that are "extra-Tom-Cruise", scenes that don't involve him. That is why you may have thought it was under-par and too much centred around Tom, simply because thats how it was meant to be!! And in that light I deem it a more scary and realistic experience!

GRAPHICS & ENVIRONMENT SETTING
Since the world has been nurished with high-tech ultra fast computer technology, the computer generated parts of the movie seem very real and spectacular. Much of the machinery, weather effects and ground-cracking (as seen in the beginning) was done in CG. Spielberg wanted to keep it as realistic as possible in terms of everyday life. For eg, in the war scene over the hill, it was cruicial that the lighting was realistic and not over the top. So instead of having loads of greens and reds and blues and yellows flashing away reflecting the alien invaders, he would have a simple bright white strobe flickering away (for the bombs and explosions) and then a quick flash of green or purple. This gives the viewer a sence there there is something out-of-the-ordinary present within this real environment. In my own opinion I think hes achieved this remarkably throughout the film; I watch a lot of Sci-Fi films and this one has made me believe I am in that environment experiencing it from first person.

GUEST APPEARANCE!
If you have watched the 1953 version of WOTW you will remember Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) and Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson). They make a cameo appearance as Rachael and Robbie's grandparents that appear right at the end of the 2005 edition.

Although not an expert on the above film, I have listened to the radio broadcast, seen the original film, listened to jeff waynes album, and seen the tom cruise version.

Although I do not agree with some of the reviews that I have read here, I have to say that the spielberg film was very good, the CGI was great and the storyline held me for the 2 hours, albeit the ending was a little quick, but hey, that is the story. I was a little dissapointed however that there was no epilouge at the end, the uncertainty that it could happen again

With any film there has to be a story line inserted ( Look at titanic ), I feel that this make the film watchable and not a documentry style program.

This is one that I will continue to watch again and again, I love the film and I love the concept, It is also very thought provoking.

Wolfen