Shooting the Breeze: War of the Worlds
Yes, it's another summer blockbuster and, with Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg and a iconic title from cinema history, can it really fail?
This could easily be dismissed as just another version of the famous HG Wells story that spawned an infamous radio play by Orson Welles and the 1953 filmed version that is now famous in movie history.
Most of you will know the plot involves an invasion of earth by forces unknown and the subsequent modern story follows the fate of the world as seen through the eyes of a small family unit - Ray Ferrier, his daughter Rachel and son Robbie.
Steven Spielberg had originally shelved his plan to film The War of the Worlds nearly 10 years ago when he saw the bombastic Independence Day in which Will Smith and his fellow military cohorts save the day against invading aliens.
Rather than taking the accepted path of showing heads of state, scientists and soldiers fighting the alien threat, we follow the fate of the ordinary guy in the street - Ray Ferrier, a failed dad and barely grown-up big kid played by Tom Cruise, leading his son, Robbie (played by Justin Chatwin) and daughter Rachel ( who is played masterfully by the very mature Dakota Fanning) back to his sensible wife - the only course of action that comes to mind during the cataclysm.
This is clearly a film forged from the tragedy of 9/11 as many scenes throughout evoke memories of the attack on New York - there are also modern themes running throughout the film about terrorism, survival and fear of the unknown. The film also deals with how society degenerates in the face of a massive onslaught - a nod perhaps to other modern events?
We see dad Ray coming to terms with finally having to take responsibility, a son who is angry and confused and a daughter who is very scared. By concentrating on the one family trying to survive, War of the Worlds separates itself from the notionally similar Independence Day while adding its own successful spin on the film.
The tension is high throughout the film thanks to the un-epic feel of major scenes. The special effects look very real (the dust and smoke helps separate it from the clinical look of films like Star Wars: The Phantom Menance) and are kept away from the viewer enough to elicit that Jaws moment of terror until they are revealed a little later in the movie.
Fans of any of the other versions of this story might not be very surprised by how it all ends, but Spielberg keeps enough tension and the odd twist involved to keep most people in the audience happy.
