War Of The Worlds

I've always been a big fan of The War Of The Worlds ever since seeing the 1953 version on T.V. one night when I was a kid, thus I was looking very forward to seeing what Steven Spielberg would do with it. Since Sarah had no interest in going, I headed over to the theater alone earlier tonight and caught the 10:25 showing of the new version (which was missing the beginning definite article), unable to wait for the weekend.

Holy cow.

I'd heard that Spielberg's intention was not a "straight remake" of the 1953 version of the movie, but rather a modern re-telling of H.G. Wells' original telling of the story. What I was not prepared for at all for just how dark and unsettling this would be on the big screen. War Of The Worlds isn't the kind of escapist "America (Fuck Yeah)!" moviemaking you might be expecting at all - in fact this isn't so much a "war" as a fucking rout (to paraphrase a line spoken by an ancilliary character). There is also something about those Tripod machines that just gets under your skin and won't leave: that weirdly-classical yet alien look to them, the roving heat-rays that can flash-cremate dozens of extras at a time, or (most likely) that soul-shattering siren of doom they emit just before they engage in battle -- a minor key death knell played at stupendous volume.

I also like that there are no overall explanations of what the hell is really going on while it happens: what little you know of the war is either inferred instinctually or by overheard conversations which may or may not be correct. That, and a host of visual cues (some of them subtle, some of them a bit more blatant) bring to mind the mind-numbing chaos of September 11 - that familiar helpless sense of complete shock and stunned surprise was replicated in a style that I'd normally describe as "beautifully" if it didn't feel morbid to say so.

There are also some hints of past Spielberg achievements for those who love looking for these things (Jurassic Park is the most noticeable of the referential nods here) as well as enough Independence Day-styled widescreen destruction for two movies. With much of the staggering devastation used as a backdrop (as if seen out of the corners of our eyes rather then thrust into the foreground), Spielberg keeps a sense of dread and doom -- both alien-derived and otherwise -- at near-redline level throughout the first two-thirds of the movie. This more immediate and claustrophobic fear feels strange for a movie like this and probably comes to us thanks to War Of The Worlds never pulling back for a look at The Big Picture as most films of its ilk tend to do -- in a fashion reminscent of Signs, we stay with one family the whole way through the movie, but this time the characters are outside the safety of their home and fending for themselves in a world turned completely upside down.

A couple of points before I finish about two issues a lot of people will likely have with War Of The Worlds...

First, of course, is the movie's ending, which is done in exactly the same way Wells intended. Even to those familiar with the original book or movie, this ending cannot help feeling like a sudden cop-out following the incredible carnage wreaked almost nonstop beforehand (there is also a secondary plot resolution which is what really strained plausibility for me, but it was forgivable in the wake of what I'd seen until that point).

The second issue is the main character being played by the new favorite American celebrity pinata Tom Cruise (thanks to his propensity to come off as a raging gigglemuppet when he steps off-camera and interacts with the real world). While I do wish to hell the man would just vanish into some ethereal celebrity Asgaard when he walks off of a movie set, Cruise still has the ability to surprise me from time to time with his acting or his choice of roles. This time around, I am relieved to say that he plays a human being instead of a cartoon -- in fact, his character is a selfish, rather gladly average witted asshole who is anything but a hero figure when the shit hits the fan. While the usual movie cliches abound when dealing with Cruise's relationships with his estranged children, Cruise still comes off likable and believable in the end.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this flick. Happy Fourth!