Everyone is fed up with the Tom Cruise mania that appears to be sweeping our nation. However, no hype or media glamour can deter me from seeing a good movie – which is exactly what I thought War of the Worlds would be. I thought it would be similar to Independence Day, but with more emphasis on human intuition and human feelings. It turned out to be an unforgettable experience.

War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg, is a movie driven by the plot. The story just eats you up from the very beginning, keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the duration of the movie and never lets go. It all starts out with Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), picking up his teenage son (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter (Dakota Fanning) from their mother for the weekend. Ray is a man who hasn’t been able to make things work out for him, and there is obvious tension between himself and his son.

Suddenly, a freakish storm occurs. Twenty-six bolts of lightning hit the same spot, signaling the beginning of the attack. Alien tripod fighting machines spring out of the ground, and Earth is under attack. It turns out that extraterrestrial forces hid these machines millions of years ago, and have been monitoring our every move. In the 21st century, they have decided that the time has come to exterminate humankind.

War of the Worlds focuses on the journey of Ray and his two children, as they try to get from New Jersey to Boston. Along the way, the trio must do all that they can to survive unlike the thousands of others that are being obliterated every second during this extermination campaign.

The plot seems farfetched at first, however the special effects somehow make everything eerily realistic. As I sat there in my seat, the movie made me thing: “What if there really are extraterrestrial forces out there?” The movie makes you think about what if all of this could happen to us, and when such thoughts are running through someone’s mind, the director has done a terrific job. I remember numerous times when I was on the edge of my seat because the movie was so gripping and suspenseful. The action scenes are large in number and full of realism.

The acting in War of the Worlds was Oscar-worthy. Tom Cruise was perhaps the perfect man to play Ray. He has this persona of a family man, yet he is also able to accurately depict every possible human emotion. He manages to handle things like death and affliction so naturally, that it makes the movie even more compelling and gripping. The same can be said about the rest of the cast. In all honesty, Dakota Fanning was extremely annoying for a good portion of the movie. But I must give it to her, her performance in this would have given Hilary Swank a run for her money last year. Her acting was unbelievable and she is as talented as any other child in Hollywood is. The role of Robbie was a bit too cliché (angry and disobedient teenager), but Justin Chatwin delivered a solid performance. And Morgan Freeman’s performance as the narrator was just what the movie needed.

However, I also had some quirks with the movie. The ending was far too abrupt. As the credits begin to roll, there were lots of questions that were left unanswered. Up until the last five minutes of the movie, I truly thought this was one of the greatest movies I had ever seen. But the ending really keeps the movie from being an absolute classic. As people got up and left the theater, I heard them asking the exact same questions that were running through my mind.

There were also a few flaws with the film. The lightning storms render all electronic or mechanical devices useless. Cars, watches, electronics – none of them work. However in one scene, a person if using a camcorder to record the attacks prior to being turned to dust. If all electronic devices are unusable, why it this camera still working? In another scene, a very large object crashes into a certain place (I’m avoiding spoilers), yet the car is left unscathed. Scenes like these left me puzzled. And if you think about it, why did the aliens bother to wait millions of years to take over Earth. If they had arrived prior to our existence, why didn’t they take over before humans were even born?

War of the Worlds is rated PG-13 for “PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images.” I don’t really recommend taking young children to see this movie, as there certainly were some sequences that could really scare them. The movie is three minutes short of two hours long, which was a good length. However, ten or twenty more minutes to flesh out the ending would have gone a long way.

War of the Worlds is based on an 1898 novel written by the famous H.G. Wells. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to read this novel. However, I did order it on Amazon about three weeks ago because I heard about the movie. It’s not a very long novel, and I’m looking forward to reading it, in hopes that it will clear up the ending. Another movie version was made in 1953, and I personally haven’t seen it but have heard good things about it.

Overall, War of the Worlds was one of the darkest, creepiest, scariest, and realistic alien invasion movies ever made. To top things off, the weather outside of the movie theater was just like a scene from the movie. There was a huge thunderstorm last night after I saw the movie, and I swear I was prepared to fight and hide from aliens. It was surreal. War of the Worlds is one of the best movies of the year (right up there with Star Wars Episode III), and I truly enjoyed it. It leaves you with a lot running through your head, which is always a good thing.

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12