why i hate this film (major Ranting)

[dogar]

Maybe some people do know the opportunity that was missed, and maybe they just don't give all that much of a damn.

[marciano]

I can´t defend now the pp version, but i still can hate the ss version.... I only love the original War of the Worlds

[Rob]

I really enjoyed the film when I first saw it, but now I own the DVD my love of it has faded. The negative points I made in my review all the way back in June have grown into annoyances that taint the movie.

As an adaption of the Wells novel it didn't do very well, infact it's terrible.

As a remake of the 1953 film it did great.

As a blockbuster summer movie it did ok, but I don't remember people ranting about it, a few friends here and there told me it was ok, they enjoyed it, but wouldn't be buying the DVD.

The truth is that this film means different things to everyone, for some it will have been their entry in 'Worlds' fandom and for people like Rusti, myself and nerf (to mention a few) it's just another example of where the novel can be totally misrepresented.

My point, and I think I always make this point so forgive me for repeating myself, everyones likes different aspects of the 'worlds' story, for some this film may have captured everything they wanted from the story for others they see it as hollywood pap that could have been a much better representation of the novel. And of course all the shades of opinion in between and the fence sitters...

... like me

[marciano]

The George Pal version is a better film. This film have lots of plot holes and the second aprt is very boring.

[timbohines]

Well I enjoyed it (whisper it) more than the Jeff Wayne musical.

[EvilNerfherder]

timbohines said:

Well I enjoyed it (whisper it) more than the Jeff Wayne musical.

Only Tim Hines would say something as mad as that.. I'm sorry I doubted your identity.

[RustiSwordz]

admin said:

As an adaption of the Wells novel it didn't do very well, infact it's terrible.

I agree.

As a remake of the 1953 film it did great.

I wouldnt say so, i thought the old movie was a thousand times more tence and the characters although cheesy, generated my sympathy much more, and the battle scenes although dated were still superior.

As a blockbuster summer movie it did ok, but I don't remember people ranting about it, a few friends here and there told me it was ok, they enjoyed it, but wouldn't be buying the DVD.

People came out of the cinema where i was quite 'muted' normally if people like the film they leave chatting and commenting out of the film. All i got was 'yeah its OK i suppose'
The film didnt capture the imagination of the audience like Episode 3 and Batman Begins did.

It be interesting to see the box office takings for the blockbusters this year.

[timbohines]

rustiswordz said:

The film didnt capture the imagination of the audience like Episode 3 and Batman Begins did.

I have to disagrre there. When I left WOTW, the audience were immpressed by the film. Whilst people were just laughing at ep III

[marciano]

I love Batman Begins, the original Star Wars and i hate WOTW....
But sorry, the episode iii was RUBISH.

[mctoddridesagain]

I still haven't seen it.

But if Rusti wants to rant, why not?

What's more sad - having the rant, letting off steam, or people posting umpteen times about how sad it is having a rant?

[FALLINGSTAR]

Must hire Episode III as I missed it at the cinema.

[BrutalDeluxe]

rustiswordz said:

The characters are a miserly bunch of losers and deadbeats. Cruise is an ignorant bum, his son is a spoiled Chavvy tosser and his daughter is a hateful little prissy miss with mental problems. Cruise's ex in the film is the token wench, her new beau has 'im smug, punch me' on his forhead.

Absolutely, and this is one of the things I liked about the movie. I have met these characters in my life, which gives the whole thing a sense of familiarity.

I'm kinda with Rob on this one. When I saw it in the cinema I was awestruck, but now I have watched it umpteen times on DVD I'm starting to fall out of love with it.

As soon as I found out that it was set in present day I quickly threw out any preconceptions that it would be close to the book and I think this worked in my favour. It doesn't come near to touching the brilliance of the original text and I never thought it would.
As a modern day hypothetical of alien attack it is not that bad.

[the Donal]

It's a shame indeed that such a great book has had so many dissapointing movie interpretations- I can understand why you're so upset about this Rusti- it is a sadly lacking film. Hopefully Jeff Wayne's movie will deliver the goods to a much greater degree...
I still like it a lot, but find it getting weaker with every viewing. It does have very good points- the tripods, the atmosphere the tension and some of the mob scenese by the ferry. Weak points are the characters (though I don't dislke them as much as some..!), the aliens themselves, big (unnecessary) detours from the plot of the book and Spielberg's mission to make it a family reconciliation (of sorts- at least the wife doesn't go running back to Ray!) with a rushed, patchy plot movie rather than a survival story looking at the effects on various members of the community and their beliefs. Though the vicar losing faith and the soldier with dreams of glory are fairly obvious character examinations (perhaps not for 1896)- they would be easy to translate into today.

I'm not sure Ridley Scott would be the best choice though he's bound to do a very good job. I think, Pendragon aside, that the script is more important here than the director to keep in with the book more- however a good director with a strong vision would stand by an accurate script and be able to sell it to the Studio cash counters (who like the obvious, easy buck of course).

[Chris Oakley]

My feeling on the SS version are that if it wasn't for the Tripods this could have been a remake of Independance Day without us actually killing them with weapons at the end.

I like the special effects though, I think ILM are a fantastic outfit and should be praised for their work.

[Lensman]

Rusti gave us fair warning with the "(major Ranting)" in the subject line, so anyone who was offended by that should have steered clear. I disagree with much of what he said, but it seems clear that Rusti has given his honest opinion and we should all respect that.

I thought the film's strengths much more than outweighed its serious flaws, but I note that many who originally thought so like it less upon repeated viewing. Since I've only seen it once, perhaps I too will like it less upon a second viewing. And I do note the lack of notice or comments by the general public about this film, so apparently it didn't have the impact I thought it would.

[the Donal]

Or that Paramount/Spielberg thought it would- The Film of the Decade?

I think not!

[Leatherhead]

it wasn't THAT bad IMO. i actually enjoyed it. No, it was not Wells' version, but then again, it wasn't suppsed to be. i notice that a lot of ppl on these boards have said they would make changes of their own if they made their own WOTW movie. so, really, it was about what i expected when i saw it.

[beecus]

I'm not surprised about people being upset still, this is not a film forum but a War of the Worlds forum

For fans of War of the Worlds

They've every right to keep slamming a hash of the great works of H.G.Wells for as long as it takes in my opinion.

After watching the film two or three times now, I'll admit I enjoy it, but on no level at all do I link it with WotW, it has tripods...yep, but that to me is like saying Life of Brian and Passion of the Christ are the same thing because they both had Romans in it.

So rant away, were here as fans of War of the Worlds primarily, not as film fans aren't we?

[richardburton]

I still think the film has a lot of plus points and I still think that as an adaption in a lot of ways it's better than the '53 version and closer to the original work (even though I am still very fond of that one). But it's all just opinion at the end of the day and everyone has different tastes, so we're all going to get something slightly different out of seeing exactly the same film.

[Luperis]

I agree.

I think is an ok movie when not compared to the original novel. But if someone asks me to talk about it's errors, plotholes and stupid moments...well, I could be ranting on for hours.

I guess, if nothing else, it gives us something to rant about and pick apart, which can be fun sometimes.