Steven Spielberg's adaptation of War of the Worlds delivers on the thrill and paranoia of H.G. Wells' classic novel while impressively updating the action and effects for modern audiences. Read critic reviews
War of the Worlds
2005, Sci-fi/Adventure, 1h 56m
267 Reviews 250,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
Dockworker Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) struggles to build a positive relationship with his two children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). When his ex-wife, Mary Ann (Miranda Otto), drops them off at Ferrier's house, it seems as though it will be just another tension-filled weekend. However, when electromagnetic pulses of lightning strike the area, the strange event turns out to be the beginning of an alien invasion, and Ferrier must now protect his children as they seek refuge.
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Rating: PG-13 (Frightening Sequences|Disturbing Images|Sci-Fi Violence)
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Genre: Sci-fi, Adventure, Action
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Original Language: English
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Director: Steven Spielberg
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Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson
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Writer: H.G. Wells, Josh Friedman, David Koepp
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $234.3M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Paramount Pictures
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Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
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Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)
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Critic Reviews for War of the Worlds
Audience Reviews for War of the Worlds
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When one of the greatest filmmakers in history makes a science fiction film, which is one of his biggest strengths, you have no choice but to check it out. War of the Worlds is loosely based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same name, about a father and his children trying to cope with a global alien invasion. There have been so many of these alien invasion films over the years, so it's difficult for any of them to feel fresh and stick out to me. I think the one thing that separates this film from others is that Tom Cruise or any of the other actors aren't playing characters that fight the aliens, or "tripods" as they call them. It only makes up a matter of a few days following the first attack and the immediate aftermath. Because of that, Cruise is given more to do dramatically than per usual. He gets a few stunts and an action scene or two (because why wouldn't you take advantage of his talent) but it's much more about family than it is about anything else. In that regard, the film works most of the time. Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, father to both Rachel and Robbie. Not to intentionally quote another Cruise movie, but it's really (k)night and day with these kids. Dakota Fanning is perfectly cast as Rachel, a pre-teen who is terrified of the apocalyptic world she now lives in. However, I just couldn't get behind Justin Chatwin's performance and the character of Robbie. There were too many times in which I either felt the character was entirely unnecessary to the plot, or he kept the plot from moving forward in frustrating ways. Why does he all of a sudden feel the need to leave his family and join the Army's fight against the tripods? Makes no sense whatsoever. Unsurprisingly, Spielberg's visual flare is probably the film's biggest asset. Whether it's the endless amount of long takes, explosive and visceral alien action, or the impressive CGI and green screen work, War of the Worlds is a gorgeous film to look at. If every aspect of the film was as good as the visuals, this could have been quite the adaptation. Bottom line, I like everything visually and some of the performances very much, but the last 20 minutes is a bit of a letdown, as is the constant annoyance of the Robbie character. +Visuals +Dakota is magnificent -Annoying older brother 7.7/10
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The special FX were good, the acting is quite okay but still, you can't go wrong with Spielberg except from Hook.
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The H.G. Wells classic War of the Worlds is remade yet again, this time by Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately Spielberg brings nothing to the table, offering no new insight or perspective on the material. The special effects and battle sequences are amazing, but the storytelling is weak and does a poor job at capturing the impact and tragedy of this epic tale of survival. The characters are also poorly written, and are rather unsympathetic. Dakota Fanning manages to deliver a strong performance, while Tom Cruise is serviceable. Though the action and special effects are impressive, Spielberg's War of the Worlds is a superficial film with no depth or meaning.
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[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] Wow, if there is one director who can deliver an epic scale popcorn movie. It's Spielberg. I think he is consistently at his best when he's delivering us these massive, overwhelming blockbusters that genuinely display his intricate skill for the camerawork, lighting and atmospherics, simply the best of Hollywood film making. I believe his adaptation of H.G Well's deeply profound novel is one of the most under rated film's of the 2000's. I dont really need to point out that this version changes a lot from it's source material. But I think that "War" is a partly unfilmable book. In my opinion, the real genius in what made the book work in literal terms cannot be faithfully replicated onto the screen. There's a whole lot of underlying politics in the paranoid obsessive book. But there's an incredible amount of awe inspiring spectacle that touches your imagination too. In the film there's a lot of the monumentally captivating flare and a little bit of the deeper meanings, the thing that's made fans of the novel rant on how much they hate this film is the change in setting, among countless other things. For film fans it's dismissed for the apparant "cop out" ending. But that's how it's supposed to end. For cinema, that ending for a lot of people doesn't work but the focus on action doesn't work for hardcore fanatics of the source. Now personally, I saw some real darkness in that ending, resultingly, Spielberg delivered a solid, action packed, light hearted popcorn flick but also stayed faithful to the novel in some fashion. He successfully positioned this disaster epic on the fine line of appreciating the complexities of the novel but also gave us a return to sci fi- horror B movie form. For that, hats off to him and his writers. Terrfying aliens, an under stated performance by lead Tom Cruise who is as engaging as ever, a good script, it's cut to the chase, easy well polished fun. Putting the annoying Hollywood cliches and moments of poor storytelling aside, I am a proud fan of the new War of the Worlds.
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