Being human means that there are 1 of 2 (or both) emotions that you will feel when you hear the words “alien lifeform”. Those 2 emotions are “curiosity” and “fear”. On one hand, we would love to find out more about extra-terrestrial life, but we often also fear what this new knowledge will mean for our survival.
Many science fiction movies are not much different from horror movies. The typical horror movie victim should not have opened that door that led to their death, but more often than not, their curiosity leads to grips of fear, leading to eventual death or destruction. Both emotions culminate in the latest Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of H.G. Well’s “World Of The Worlds” (read it online here). Spielberg teams up again with Tom Cruise, since previously collabrating on Minority Report, to bring this classic science fiction tale to the silver screen. I will leave the spoilers to the end, so keep reading until my spoiler warning!
The most famous rendition of War Of The Worlds actually happened in the fall of 1938. Orson Welles, then master of broadcast theatre production for the Columbia Broadcasting System, produced and starred in an exciting on-air dramatization by Howard Koch. The radio production was so realistic that it caused wide spread mass hysteria in much of the eastern United States, around the New York, New Jersey area (The landing point was supposed to be Grover Mills). People were listening to the radio broadcast, and when they looked out their windows, they saw exactly what they wanted to see. If the streets were empty, it was because everybody had fled. If the streets were full of people and cars, it was because everybody was fleeing. People were glued to the radio because of their curiosity, or were making plans to flee for safety due to fear, until it was revealed that the broadcast was in fact a dramatization, (Listen to the actual radio broadcast of ‘War Of The Worlds’ in RealAudio here) Radio Script
Spielberg’s screen adaptation did not match Orson Welles’ artful masterpiece. There is something to be said about the simplicity of the medium used (radio vs movies), and how it absolutely captivated Welles’ audience. Welles’ skillful direction, simple and effective use of cut offs and silences to instill fear is still unmatchable by any special effects. In one scene, Spielberg does integrate silence by having Tom’s character make a remark about the silence.
*** WARNING: Spoilers! Please don’t read further if you do not want to review movie specifics ***
Spielberg examines humanity’s curiosity in the movie’s first portion, by having everybody stand around and watch their own impending doom rise up from the earth. Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a divorced father whose kids were left to his unreliable care for the weekend while his ex-wife goes to Boston with his new boyfriend to visit the in-laws.
The alien tripods hit New York hard, vaporizing everyone in sight. Ray leaves New York in a hurry with his kids; in the only automobile that was still working! (oh.. the magic of the movies). Spielberg devotes the rest of movie to examining humanity’s fear and what we are capable of to preserve ourselves. These depictions include Ray doing everything in his power to make sure he and his family gets out of New York; the car-jacking by the fearsome horde of stranded people, and also the memorable panic at the docks as the boat casts off prematurely, leaving many helpless people behind. Of course, the aliens were also to be feared but their own significant appearance came only in the form of tripods, and did not seem menancing enough during the basement scenes.
I find myself asking constantly througout the film, should we really fear the aliens? or should we really fear humanity? fear ourselves? If there was a message to be conveyed, this would be the topic. Case in point, during the strongest shall survive scene involving the angry mob surrounding the van, and when Tom Cruise’s fear for his daughter’s survival prompted him to kill his once-saviour (Tim Robbins) to ensure that he and his daughter will not be discovered by aliens. In that regard, Spielberg really hits the point across just as Orson Welles did in 1938, when the audience had to validate why they reacted the way they did during the panic.
Tom Cruise was his usual superstar self in this movie. His performance was only adequate for an actor of his experience, but his star quality stood out like a sore thumb, as with all of his movies. The only interesting performance was Dakota Fanning as Ray Ferrier’s daughter, Maggie. Maggie’s portrayal in the beginning was well acted, but turned into a scream machine crying for help towards the latter end of the movie. Dakota has wrestled the spotlight twice in a roll, in “World Of The Worlds” and “Hide & Seek” from big shots like Tom Cruise and Robert De Niro respectively. I definitely like her performance in this movie more so than in “Hide & Seek”, as she portrays troubled/traumatized characters in both movies very well. I hope to see more of her in future movies, but perhaps in different roles than she has already played.
Spielberg knows how to create visual excitement. The movie visuals were faithful to H.G. Well’s original depiction of the tripod. Some of these illustrations can be found on the cover of the novels. The scene featuring the speeding train with every carriage burning did well to stimulate the audience but to me was very unbelievable, and did not serve a purpose in the movie.
Dialogs were few to come by character development took a back seat to the special f/x’s center stage There were a couple of interesting dialogs, such as the argument between Ray and his son as his son bursts out what he really feels about his father’s attempts to flee to Boston. Tim Robbins’ character also gave a memorable speech about the difference between those who died and those who survive: “The ones that didn’t flatline are the ones who kept their eyes open.”
Spielberg has always given a very PG treatment to his movies. I was surprised however, to see him painting the country landscape into a sea of blood in the aftermath of the alien attack – another visual stimulant. The explanation of the alien’s self defeat is terribly unsatisfying, and the audience is never given the reason for the invasion in the first place. Like all Spielberg films, everybody can die except for the lovable “good” characters in the film. I find these pacifications to be unfulfilling. A different dimension could have been added if Ray’s son did not survive the onslaught that killed thousands on the battle fields, and to make things worse, made it to Boston before Ray and Maggie. Throughout the basement scene, I also kept thinking to myself why aliens with such advanced technology could not have invented cameras that could see infrared, have night vision or thermal imaging to better detect human presence. This must also be the reason why the aliens, after monitoring us for millions of years, still manages to overlook a fatal flaw with their plan to eradicate humanity. Guess it would not be much of a movie if Tom and the kids did not have a fighting chance now, would it?
Overall, I have to give this movie a 3 out of 5 stars. Spielberg succeeds in entertaining the masses much like he accomplished with Jurassic Park. You get your bang for the buck to see this in the theatres. However, I’m not that keen to buy the DVD when it comes out, or consider it one of the greatest movies to add to my collection!