War of the Worlds

Monday, July 03, 2000
War of the Worlds

Warning: Some spoilers included.

I went for this movie for two reasons- Tom Cruise and Steven Speilberg. Given that I am very selective about watching movies in cinema halls (simply because almost always the person sitting next to me will have the uncontrollable urge to give running commentary) it was a big deal for me to go for a 9:50 pm show. The film starts off well- well, for first 15-20 minutes or so, until the "machines" arrive. Once they unfold- literally, it looks like a tacky video game and nothing more. There is absolutely no excitement or build up, no suspense, no anticipation, no empathy. The film was a drag after the first 15-20 minutes were over.

The whole idea of extermination and survival was good- a bit too obvious- and in the end, it was imposed- you don’t “travel” through it; it doesn’t make you wonder. Even when Cruise emphatically tries to convince how intelligent these aliens are, well, doesn’t quite seem so with bamboo-like baskets in which they hold humans. The blood-sucker "thing" was even tackier than the flower that tries to swallow the little kid in the film Jumanji. Yeah, it was so childish.

Tim Robbins is pretty much wasted in the film. The point where he appears in the film is the epitome of confusion, that is, whether to keep it a simple action flick or deviate into the human drama. Both the children are over-acting all the time. Though the young girl- Dakota Fanning- playing Cruise’ daughter- is over the top and hyper it gets irritating- but given that that was her character, its fine, but something in you wishes that aliens would take her at least!

The aliens eventually fall apart because the intelligent ones forgot to check bacteria- so much for their millions of years of scientific advancement and superiority. The film never really grows on you. In the end it was a waste of my time and trip- especially given the fact that on my way back, a stupid woman jumping the red light almost killed me. It was a scary thought to have seen this movie as my last one on this planet.

My advice:Give it a pass. If you must watch it- wait for DVD release. But if you have to watch an alien-adventure movie then rent Independence Day. If you are dying to get a cruise-dose then rent The Last Samurai or Jerry Maguire.

Coming soon: A delayed review on Collateral