Hals
Junior Member
Posts: 20
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Post by Hals on Jul 3, 2005 19:05:07 GMT
Did anyone notice in the final scene, the "corny" ending how TC was walking through lots of fallen autumn leaves...looks like SS paid a small tribute to Jeff Wayne's version there. You know, the Justin Heywood song Forever Autumn...nice touch!
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SEAN
Full Member
Posts: 146
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Post by SEAN on Jul 3, 2005 21:03:32 GMT
Right, I went to see the film this afternoon with my fiance and a couple of mates. One of them being my best friend for 26 years who is an avid wotw fan.
I thought this was a BRILLIANT FILM! ! ! ! I really, really, really enjoyed it. All of this talk about jingoism is a load of bollox. My god, people are so petty and particular! ! ! haven't you got lives or things to do that are more poductive? ? ? ?
I found this film to be gripping, tense, well acted, great special effects, in fact make that amazing spx, and loads of other superlatives.
Now, don't get me wrong. I was one of the big doubters re. Monsieur Spielberg and Monsieur Cruise. But, I take back everything I thought/said and state that this is a great film. For all of you people out there who wan't to see a complete interpreatation of Mr Well's novel, then you will either be surprised (like myself) at how good this film is, or you will cry/scoff at it's inperfections.
Anyway, go and see this film. Enjoy it for what it is. I did, and so did the company I was with and we all enjoyed it immensely! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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Post by Lensman on Jul 3, 2005 21:51:29 GMT
Cruise defeats the alien eye-tentacle, then runs immediately outside into the open and starts shouting for his daughter to 'make a lot of noise' - with no thought, look, or apprehension that there must be aliens around? Sure, it was a stupid thing to do. But entirely believable, given how worried about his daughter he was. People often do very stupid things in panic situations. And remember: When he called for her, he was looking out over a vast empty expanse where he could clearly see that there were no Tripods near. The aliens are dying and nobody seems relieved or even surprised? Yeah, the end sequence was not handled well at all; I think most reviewers agree on that. all the refugees are running towards the fighting, including women, children, and old people. Everyone, even though the battle has been raging for a bit. I also found that incomprehensible when watching the film. But upon reflection, people *do* tend to run towards such things so they can see them for themselves. If you're American, you've probably heard stories of how, during the early days of the American Civil War, families would take picnic baskets out to the battlefield to watch the "show"! Certainly anyone who'd experienced what Cruise's character had-- seeing at close range the casual, easy, quickly performed, instant death inflicted at distance by the heat rays/death rays-- would have fled. Presumably those running toward the fight had not directly experienced that, so they were going up to eagerly watch the American forces "kick butt"... or so they thought! Ahhh, Tom gets to defeat a fighting machine after all, even though such heroics are totally out of the character he's playing. He spends the whole movie either running from responsibility or avoiding conflict to protect his family, then suddenly decides to be the hero? It would have been better for the story if the soldier who helps 'pull him out' had been the hero and Tom had stayed to protect his kid. I entirely agree. Clearly Spielberg was pandering to his audience at this point. Some might try to defend it by pointing out this was similar to the scene near the end of Wells' serial version of WotW, but it seemed totally out of character for the man Cruise was playing. Wells' Narrator had at that point given up, and was ready to be a "suicide bomber", whereas Cruise's character was still trying to protect his daughter. Indeed, I *do* wish it had been a soldier put into the basket who used grenades on the thing. That Cruise's character just "happened" to find a bandolero of grenades at the right moment in the plot actually made me "fall out of the movie" at that point. But one or two false notes in an otherwise excellent film doesn't turn it into a bad film.
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Post by Jim Roeg on Jul 3, 2005 22:40:14 GMT
I'm coming late the party (as usual), but wow--what an awsome dicussion board! I simultaneously loved and hated this movie. Like many here, I absolutely loved the Tripods: brilliantly visualized. What I didn't love were the movie's incoherent (and frankly callow) politics. I really appreciated the reviews above by alabaster, topaz, and quaderni on this point (as well as the comments of many others). I've written a fairly lengthy review-essay on this topic in which I attempt to make sense of the changing visualization of Martian technology from the 1953 film to the current one, and to speculate about how the shift from warships to tripods in the movie adaptations of Wells might relate to the political goopiness of Spielberg's film. It's probably too long to post here, so here's the link if anyone's interested in checking it out! War of the War Machines: Tripod Politics in Spielberg's War of the Worlds doublearticulation.blogspot.com/2005/07/war-of-war-machines-tripod-politics-in.htmlCheers, Jim
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Post by TOMAHAWK on Jul 3, 2005 22:46:42 GMT
Aww come on people ..it was a good film .. nothing more ok the tripods were excellent ..I LOVE THE SOUND OF THE GENERATOR/JET SOUND AS IT STARTS TO RISE OUT OF THE HOLE
Aliens ..cool
WHAT THE HELL was with the plane crash ..what relevance has that got to do with anything ... ok why did n't we see the thing crash, what actually happened to it.
In all ... diasappointed . we had about 7 mins of actual Tripod time on screen .. the rest was filled with sodding TC, & co
No desparate hope Thunderchild scene ... ok you lot say the army was the thunderchild ...we that scene didn't make me feel that all hope had gone,
Corny .....All american hero saves the day ..jeez
In the book at least the artillery takes the first one out , not some bloke with a convienient hand grenade ...ALSO THAT HUMMER WAS ON FIRE, WHEN IT CRASHED INTO THE FARM ...SO WHY WEREN'T THE GRENADES COOKED OFF.
Hmm ..It was good .. but I ain't raving about it ..Speilberg is Not the best thing since sliced bread .
I watched Close Encounters earlier ..To me that is far superior
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Post by TOMAHAWK on Jul 3, 2005 22:49:12 GMT
Can we stop the gushing luvvy sentimentalist crap Steven speilberg is god ... Ok he has made a good movie ..nothing really ground breaking is it.
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Post by <[Iron Man]> on Jul 4, 2005 1:28:09 GMT
He's become a forum Darling now! "Steve! Steve! Is there anything we can do for you?!"
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Post by RossH on Jul 4, 2005 5:43:44 GMT
Saw the movie yesterday. Enjoyed it a lot, wonderful eyecandy although the more I thought about it afterwards, the less impressed I was with it as a movie. There's no real substance to the whole thing...
Don't get me wrong, the 1st appearance of the Tripod is worth the admission in itself. I even like the idea of a Cruise-eye-view of the whole 'war' (having accepted this won't be a faithful adaption), and the movie is peppered with ideas and references to both the '53 movie and the original book. However, this is not the perfect movie some reviews are making it out to be, Spielberg is a better storyteller than this.
Opening/closing narration. Morgan Freedman phones it in. No gravitas, no emotion, no poetry. Flat.
The pit. Was impressed when the cracked ground started rotating (opening of the cylinder) and then I though 'why, why would the ground rotate'? Doesn't make any sense.
The tripods had been in the earth for a million years (anyone take geology?) and the alien pilots came down the lightning into them... c'mon, is that the best you can come up with. LAME!
Cellar scene. Went on WAY too long to hold the suspense, and the way the probe moved reminded me of the pseudopod from 'The Abyss'
Aliens in the cellar. Why did these hyperintelligent aliens act just like curious monkeys. They were comical and very unintelligent, not sinister or calculating. And why were they even there- the aliens don't CARE about humans... wasn't impressed with the designs either, but that's not so important.
And Cruise kills off 'Ogalvy" because he's making noise yet yells and screams when his daughter runs upstairs.
The basket scene-so the all metal tripods have an anus to suck people into the body of the machine, even though it was shown that they harvest humans by spiking them and sucking all the 'juice' out not 10 minutes earlier.
So the aliens were dying and the tripods moved erratically. Why did they chose this time to SWITCH OFF THEIR FORCEFIELD THAT PROTECTED THEM FOR THE WHOLE OF THE MOVIE UP TO NOW so they could be hit by shoulder launched missiles?
The ending- yes felt kinda rushed, but ok I guess. What got me was the realisatioon that I never felt Cruise and family had actually been travelling towards Boston throughout the film.
Overall, a great collection of impressive, suspenseful scenes... but loosly associated with each other. The production values are great, but the story cohesion clearly shows that this film was done in a hurry.
Go see the movie if you haven't already, the Tripods are so cool- just don't expect this to be the best moving picture ever made!
(excuse any typos, I'm on my laptop and I can't type on it to save myself)
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Jehuty
Junior Member
Posts: 33
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Post by Jehuty on Jul 4, 2005 6:37:09 GMT
"Why did these hyperintelligent aliens act just like curious monkeys. They were comical and very unintelligent, not sinister or calculating. And why were they even there- the aliens don't CARE about humans... wasn't impressed with the designs either, but that's not so important."
Exactly how would you expect them to come across, being aliens and all? They seemed curious but hardly unintelligent. I doubt if a group of human soldiers would seem especially intelligent in similar circumstances.
"The tripods had been in the earth for a million years (anyone take geology?) and the alien pilots came down the lightning into them... c'mon, is that the best you can come up with. LAME!"
Again, we only have Ogilivy's word for it.
"Cellar scene. Went on WAY too long to hold the suspense, and the way the probe moved reminded me of the pseudopod from 'The Abyss' "
Surely the tentacle in the cellar scene should remind of the '53 movie - It moved similarly to the tentacle to The Abyss but it was hardly copied from there.
"And Cruise kills off 'Ogalvy" because he's making noise yet yells and screams when his daughter runs upstairs."
Had the Martians not already spotted them at that point? I thought she ran upstairs because she woke up to see the camera looking at her - I'd bloody run away too!
"The basket scene-so the all metal tripods have an anus to suck people into the body of the machine, even though it was shown that they harvest humans by spiking them and sucking all the 'juice' out not 10 minutes earlier."
It looks to me like when the used the probe (No! not the probe!) they were spraying the blood but when they take the captives into the fighting machine they are 'eating' them.
"So the aliens were dying and the tripods moved erratically. Why did they chose this time to SWITCH OFF THEIR FORCEFIELD THAT PROTECTED THEM FOR THE WHOLE OF THE MOVIE UP TO NOW so they could be hit by shoulder launched missiles?"
Has it occured to you that the FMs were probably somewhat organic - I mean just look at the red sphincter of death! Does that look mechanical to you? The bacteria was probably affecting the FMs biological systems.
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Post by malfunkshun on Jul 4, 2005 7:06:42 GMT
holy schneikies. after reading these reviews, i HAVE to somehow scrape up 7 dollars (i'm laid of and unemployed at the moment, and thus... broke as a joke) and go see this movie tomorrow. can it be that this movie really makes up for the utter failure and dissappointment of the hines fiasco? god i hope so, and the reviews here are making me think so.
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Post by robkral on Jul 4, 2005 7:37:37 GMT
REVIEW: HEAVY SPOILERS INCLUDED.
A no holds barred criticism of the movie!
I recommend reading of this review only if you HAVE seen the film. It's a discussion more for those whov'e seen it. Don't spoil yourself and go see the movie!!!!
Firstly let me say this is the most highly anticipated film for me EVER. I went absolutely nuts waiting for this one. Going to finally see it...for me this was an genuine EVENT.
A lot of my review will deal with what I didn't like, as it's easy I think to agree on what was fantastic about the movie and I'm sure that's covered all over the internet. It's dislike's that can be the most interesting (and individual) so that's what I'll concentrate on. In essense, whilst the movie is superb, yet feels like chapters of it were missing.
Before I discuss what I really didn't like (and I mean REALLY), let me say I thought the tripods were AMAZING. Words can't express it: the design and CGI fx really deliver far beyond what I could have imagined. And they appear totally convincing, and other-worldy. Absolutely a joy (in a terrifying yet wonderful way) to watch. The fx and awe-filled sections of the film do not disappoint!!
Overall, this is a fantastic movie, with some wonderful illustrations of what panic can do to mankind. The flaws, I feel (strongly) lie in pacing and what feels to me like "missing chapters" of the story. By this I don't mean the original book, I mean THIS story of this particular version. A few times I felt like "did we just skip a scene or two?".
The set-up and introduction works great, the pacing here is spot on, the acting is also completely wonderful from Dakota Fanning and Tom Cruise. The character of Rob I can't say I liked because I didn't really understand him: it felt to me like something was missing here, like a deleted scene or two or three or even more.(see below). I think his acting is OK but because the MATERIAL wasn't there, he COULDN'T do much more with it. WONDERFUL ways of revealing the tripods which are truly other-worldy. It's choc full of stuff you simply haven't seen anywhere before: a complete delight (in a terror strickin sort of way!). This entire revelation of the first tripod section and what it does is 10/10 FANTASTIC and AMAZING. Absolutely superb. (When we get dvd's it will be hard not to just watch this and other scenes OVER AND OVER before continuing. SIMPLY BRILLIANT.
(And by the way: we SEE the tripod FULLY. I admire this move rather than revelaing only a bit at a time, which was a fine techinique in the 70s and 80s, but now it feels gutsy to SHOW us what you've got).
STUNNINGLY directed car escape conversation scene too: a MAJOR feat of directing and camera work.
Terrific scenes then later give way to the first flaw I felt in the movie: the crashed plane scene. I can buy that the plane is in massive chunks because I tell myself a tripod grabbed it mid flight and tossed it to the ground. (We don't SEE how it happened), because otherwise we all know that a jet plane CRASH ends in total smitherines. But the biggest problem isn't this: it's when Ray meets a reporter. her acting (and her part somewhat itself) becomes more oridinary hollywood style: the TERRIFIC atmosphere the cast has set up to this point is destroyed by this. The scene isn't too bad: and the video is fantastic that she shows as a window to what else is happening "out there". But once you see the whole movie you realise this videotape is a bit of a cop-out (and yes I know Spielberg is sticking with Ray's experience only, but still: more MASS destruction scenes would have helped the bigger picture and the feeling that "somethings missing"). Then there's the video revelation of the alien's transport method, which was really stretching it to say the least. (Can a science person step in and explain if it may be possible for anything to RIDE lightning?).
Then we are back to pure fantastic film-making. The family's ride into town should go down as a cinematic classic. Back to totally realistic situations that think through what might happen: completely frightening as it reveals the horrors of HUMANS under pressure. Spielberg has created a War of the Worlds where the invaders are only PART of the danger!!! From here on through the to the Ferry attack it's absoltuely totally superb. Some incredible awesome effects and reveals of tripods occur. Its the kind of material you just want to keep looking at and see again and again.
Soon enough, however, Rob is wanting to split off from Ray and Rachel. WHY is Rob so wanting to join the army?? This was another big let-down from the realsim we had early on but lost. It felt rushed: I wondered if scenes had been cut, it felt like there was a chapter missing that dealt with Rob and who he is and wants to be (needs to be). (It felt even MORE rushed and strange in an even EARLIER scene where Rob wants to hop aboard the army trucks and tanks and yells with Ray). Something was really missing, I felt, and glaringly so to the point of, like a bad special effect might do, disengaging me from the experience. It jolted me into thinking "um, why would he do this???". The story presses forward too fast for my liking. I realize this amplifies the sheer power of the invaders, that they can wipe us out in a day or two.... but it's all too fast. The longer original story's length comtributes to the epic feel of it.
However, what Spielberg sets up in the scene on the hill is anamazing moment. Incredible stuff, but it would have been far more gut-wrenching if I had SOME idea as to why on earth Rob is on the hill with such enthusiasm in the first place. (At this point I am even asking other internet posters to clue me in here? DID I miss something?!)
The next "missing" thing should have taken place right after this: I felt there should have been some of the artillery exchange shown. I'm sure the reason is again, we're just seeing Ray's experience, but I mention all this not just for eye-candy, but it would have made a good picture into a BEST picture.
Another hilight chapter in the movie is the ruined house with Ogilvy. Terrific suspense and wonderful time getting to know the Alien probe. Truly a memorable character in itself!! Some very clever use of props and a delight to watch. I was quite shocked by the aliens themselves: not in a frightened way but shocked that we were shown them so clearly. They are terrifying when hidden by curtains and obstructions, it's something of an anticlimax to be shown them, yet the boldness of it is admirable. The shot where they actually leave the house (the aliens) is so well done it is totally convincing, and does help with the wonder of witnessing something otherworldy.
I have problems with the Ogilvy character, but this is probably because I'm a fan of the original. He is "The Parson" because he's in teh ruined house and shouts dangerously, he is "The Artilleryman" because he dreams of the world underground, and on top of this he is named Ogilvy, another charecter from the original entireyl! However, it does work that he is the crazy visionary very well...Tim Robbins plays the part wonderfully. I do sorely miss the religious charecter in the story however. This ommission deletes some major themes of the story in my opinion. (The Asylum film DEVELOPS this rather than deletes it, and the result is a thinking man's science fiction film). The biggest problem I have with this character though is I really wished we were months into the story: he seems more suited to someone driven mad by the ordeals and confinement. As with several sections of the film, it just felt there wasn't enough "passing of time". I also felt Ray may have tried escaping the house instead of what he does decide when he gets Rachel to sing. (Can't bring myself to spoil the story here). Here's where Spielberg created again an incredible scene to direct between Rachel and Ray and Ogilvy, but at the expense of realsim perhaps.
(MAJOR SPOILERS) when Rachel was captured I was awestruck! Then Ray, oh my word what an incredible part of the story I just wasn't expecting that! The baskets are visually terrifying. I guess scenes like this, being so well done, inspire me even further.....
Picture this: Once captured in the baskets, I would have loved if Ray and Rachel spent DAYS in there, as the tripod travelled to another location. We could have seen some AMAZING stuff: destruction from the tripod's eye-view, for example. We could have got to know another charecter in the basket over this time, then seen them finally taken away by the tentacle. Perhaps this is where they could have had a Parson charecter.(I really miss the religious themes brought out and questioned in the book and The Asylum version of the movie. I wonder if being super big budget religious themes are too touchy, too personal for mainstream release: the studios wouldn't accept it?). But a few more days up in that basket, would help with pacing as from here we fastforward to the ending. And to me, it relaly felt like a fastforward: or more like we skipped a chapter or two.....
IT would have also been truly horrific to catch a glimpse of these baskets earlier on, and would have helped "fill out" the missing chapter feel mentioned in this review. Imagine earlier scenes where you see people in the baskets being carried away. Maybe even on the video tape: after the lightening the reporter could have shown a clip they may have shot of the basket (zoomed in, hard to make out totally at this stage but my word, "what IS that...there's PEOPLE in there". and have this unfold more.
The ending? It's really a "throwaway" ending with how quickly the family meets up. This ending really peeved me because Spielberg HAD set things up for a much better ending: IN the beginning the Mom is very cool with him and it seems for good reason. She's peeved with him and distant. You would think that at the end, after this terrific journey, we could see her breakdwon and show some emotion toward him. They ARE family and he went trhough hell to protect and save their daughter. Why not see this emotion here?
Instead she can only muster a smile and a "Thankyou". Not only that, but she does it quietly and from a distance. I felt she should have RUN to him while he was still in the distance down the street, (like the Prodigal son and his father), ran to him with tears and overhwelmed with emotion. (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT) She had Robbie, so he would have told her some of the sheer dangers they were all in, the horrors that Dad had brought them through alive. Her reserved nature at the end I find, frankly, ridiculous and completely disappointing. And it makes for a very unsatisfying ending. The ending, the way it is written, acted and directed is completely and totally unbelievable. What happened to the realsim of the terrific van-in-the-crowd scene, which was SOOOO realistic?
However, it is Rob who runs to him and throws his arm around him. Perhaps that is the most important, and interestingly it's the son running to the father this time.
Interestingly, most of the audience that I overheard upon leaving loved the ending. But they were talking about the VERY VERY end when it is explained through narration about the microscopic organisms that killed the invaders: and how each of us has earned our birthright through mankind's survival and build up of immunity. Yes this was a great and elequent VERY ending, so my negavity is more to do with how I felt about the end chapter. I know this isn't the case with the entire audience though: as many of them burst into applause the minute Rob was revealed.
So that's the nit-picking. I call it that because it's mostly the negative stuff, yet the inspiration of how I'd like to see it better comes from the movie itself. And no other movie has made me go back to the theater a few hours later and watch it again!
8/10 FOR THE MOVIE (because "something's missing"). (10/10 for fx and design). (14/10 for Dakota's incredible acting). Make that 20/10 From Rob Kral ("Here and Now")
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Post by chickenstu on Jul 4, 2005 9:22:11 GMT
Ok guys. The ending. Let's talk about it. Now whilst people criticised it, I didn't have a problem with it. At the end of the book the narrator is re-united with his wife (and at some later point I presume his brother, who also survived). So all the people who whaled on the decision NOT to kill Justin Chatwin's character should take this into account. The ending of the film, while perhaps a little corny, did keep true to the spirit of the novel. In the book the narrator had lost hope because he was convinced his wife was dead, and was functioning on auto pilot because of the sheer human will to survive. Tom Cruise's character had lost hope because he thought his son was dead, and was functioning on auto-pilot simply for the sake of his daughter. Yet at the end of the novel, the Narrator is reunited with his wife. And it has a happy ending. So it makes sense that Tom Cruise's character would be reunited with his son. This mimics the end of the book (allowing for character addition and changes) and keeps the central theme of re-uniting with loved ones after a disaster. Perhaps the most important element of HG Wells' novel. This also keeps in line with thematic elements that interest Spielberg as filmaker. Mostly all his films end with either a forming of a surrogate family, or family members who have been at odds getting a second chance to make it work insomuch as the traumas they go through in the course of the movie make them realise how much they do need and love one another. Yeah OK, maybe a death of a family member would have added a bit of dramatic meat to the proceedings, but at the end of the day- this is a FILM. It's not real, it's just a story. While we all love War Of The Worlds here, we have to remember this. It's a popcorn movie guys, it isn't shakespeare, it isn't Schindler's List, it's just a straightforward slice of escapist fun. That is all it was ever supposed to be. Anyone who wants serious Spielberg gore/family deaths, well, I'm sure you can get the DVD of Saving Private Ryan fairly cheap nowadays. Am I really the only person who actually liked the ending? Am I really the only person who can see how faitfhful this adaptation actually was to the book? To be honest guys, we really couldn't have asked for better - and we should be glad that someone treated our favourite book so well and made a good solid decent film out of it. I actually think it was one of Spielberg's best films in years, and is a satisfying end to his unofficial "alien" trilogy following Close Encounters and E.T. Well, that's put the cat amongst the pidgeons...
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Post by HTT on Jul 4, 2005 9:27:38 GMT
Hail The Tripods review Well, after reading some of the reviews, I was going to wait for the DVD, but I decided to go anyway. And after seeing it, I would say to anyone who's not seen it yet - just go and see it, and make your own mind up!! Ok, we all know how the movie opens - perhaps I'm to used to Richard Burtons voice, but Morgan Freeman sounded like he was woefully bored. I remember thinking at this point, that I was going to hate this movie. Then we meet Ray - not your usual clean cut Cruise, but an average slob. From this point, you're drawn in and wrapped up in the movie. A quick introduction to the characters, and the action starts. The tripod emerges: One word sums it up - Masterful! The close ups and the City shot - it has to be seen to believed! This sequence can hardly be improved upon, but *** SPOILER *** when the pit is created, instead of a car falling into it, I would have liked to see someone fall in, then be pulled back as they try to climb out. The Tripod itself is as near to perfect as can be imagined. In fact, I can't think of anything that is out of place! The sound - oh, boy! It's not ULLA, but more like what Wells tried to convey - the seats in the cinema literally rattled! It clears all the muck and debris from its vents, and the onslaught begins. WOW - the heat ray! *** SPOILER *** Liked the idea of being heated so much that you dry up into a husk then explode into ash - clearly only affects organic material as the clothes aren't destroyed. Only trouble with this sequence is Ray. Yes, he's the hero, but I found it annoying that people directly in front, to his side and behind are hit, and not him. I would rather that he got out of the way sooner and watched the devastation passing him. This whole sequence mirrors the initial heat ray attack, and what follows is then the equivalent of the flight to Leatherhead. Spot on! *** SPOILER *** I like the idea of the plane crash whilst in the basement - obviously this is the equivalent of the cylinder crashing by the house. I like how it's left to the imagination about exactly what happens - did the aliens take the passengers or not? The film crew sequence worked well for me, because we finally get to see the Tripod battle crescent. The lightning strike explanation worked well as a plot device *** SPOILER ** again, it's left to the imagination. We know capsules ride the lightning, but not how many in each strike. There were 26 strikes by Rays house - so 26+ capsules? Is that 26 crew members, or some pilots & equipment - were the Tripods REALLY underground, or assembled from the capsules? The River - nice moment to show the horror - it certainly had some young gals in the cinema near me in tears as the first body floated past. Another nice reference to the book - could these poor people mirror those who got in the water at Weybridge, and got flash scalded when the heat ray hit the water? Obviously a Tripod didn't fall into the river, but it could have just fired at the water. Ray is now thinking ahead, knowing that he needs to avoid crowds because of the car. *** SPOILER *** Typically, his son refuses to listen, and when Ray needs a rest, sure enough Robbie drives into a crowd. The mob scene, for me, was far too tame: Possibly because of the audience Spielberg was aiming at. Mob rule is a very ugly thing, and this should have been far nastier and violent. There wasn't enough desparation. The ferry scene - fantastic! The whole thing was perfect. And the scenes following this really sold this movie to me. *** SPOILER *** When Ray looks back, we see Tripods in the water harvesting people, and on the hill there are hordes of people fleeing as the heat ray flits amongst them. A beautiful, but somehow disturbing sight. But more so the next scene, as the family walk through the trees and clothing rains from the skies - why are the aliens stripping people? I liked the separation of the family sequence, which leads us to Ogilvy. Ogilvy is truly a blend of the Artilleryman and The Curate, and nails both perfectly. *** SPOILER *** After seeing the aliens feed, Ogilvy returns to digging out his underground world - anyone else look at the small tunnel and thought "I could have dug that in a day"? The aliens - Not Wellsian, but not bad. I didn't really see the ID4 resemblance - more Gremins or Yoda. The death of the Curate sequence is handled differently, and in a much more disturbing way than in the book. *** SPOILER *** Rather than kill in the heat of the moment, Tom deliberately chooses murder to protect his child. OK, The Red Weed and Black Smoke. Much has been said of Fertiliser, etc in other reviews, This isn't entirely correct. *** SPOILER *** It appears that the Black Smoke is respresented by something that I'll call the Red Mist. We see the Tripods syphon off blood, and then we see the tripods spraying the Red Mist (Ogilvy assumes it's blood - or is it something else?). When the Red Mist touches the Red Weed, it begins to grow and spread at an accelerated rate. This is what sends Ogilvy mad, and doesn't want to be made into "fertilizer". The look of the landscape after emerging from the house - perfect! The Basket and Downing sequence: The best bit of Tripod action: *** SPOILER *** The way it crawls up to Dakota, then raises to full height, and when it turns back to Ray - Exactly what I imagined! Very organic and fluid. And the basket is on the back of the hood - brilliant attention to detail. Once a basket is filled, it is transported underneath.Then an odd bit - Why does everyone pull Ray out of the organic tube? Why didn't they pull anyone else out? This also raises other questions - we saw the tripod syphon off blood on the ground, yet these captives are taken into the hood - For what purpose? And no-one got impaled on the sharp branches of the tree. Hmmmm. But we get to Boston in the end…lying in ruins. And this is where the film is let down a lot, as it's too rushed. *** SPOILER *** Birds are around the tripods, hence shields down. But when shields were up, they didn't stop humans or ferries getting near them. If shields were let down to gather humans, then surely some Tripods would've been taken out. But the ending is kind of bittersweet. *** SPOILER *** Typically, Grandparents live in the only sector in Boston totally unaffected by the invasion. Everyone's safe - Mom, Granny, Grandpa - even Robbie returns from his voyage into Certain Death. Will Tom be re-united with his ex-wife for the sickly sweet end? Hah! Last of all comes the wifes new husband - so tough luck Ray! No happy ever after for you! Then we get Mogans dull epilogue (shame really - Morgan has never disappointed me in anything else before now)
I was expecting possibly another ID4, or something completely unworthy of the WOTW title. Spielberg has made a fantastic version that exceeded my expectations by miles! This film is stark, bleak, unrelenting, and above all REALISTIC. The only gripe I really have is Dakota. Yes, she's the Luvvie of the moment, but she's a child who's been forced to grown up too fast, and unrealistic as a child of that age. She can scream though, even if she walks and stands like a robot.
What we're left with is a film that invites thought - NOTHING is explained at all. Various characters mention events and ideas, but nothing concrete is ever given. Everything is only as assumption. EG A tripod downed in Japan - we have only Ogilvy's word on that, and he wasn't that stable! With no news coming out of Alien sectors, how would he have found out. It's generally assumed that a Tripod was brought down, but, as with a lot of the film, we don't actually know.
All I can say is that you have to see it to really appreciate it. Don't let reviews put you off, as you're missing out on a major spectacle!
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Boz
Junior Member
Posts: 21
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Post by Boz on Jul 4, 2005 12:56:13 GMT
Well, I saw the film last night and was very impressed. What struck me most was the pacing of the thing. Very episodic - very much like the novel, no massive climax. Something else to note is that this is not a fun film. The story is not an uplifting one and again as in Well's book, humanity does not triumph - the Earth itself does. The overwhelming sense is that mankind has no claim to dominance over its planet. As ever the astronomical budget is reflected in the fact that special effects do not impinge upon the narrative. Most of the apocalypse is seen 'over the shoulder' and creates a backdrop to the real action - one familys' survival. The effects are however uniformly excellent. Cruise is good enough. He's no thesbian but he keeps sufficiently out of the spotlight and his character is no hero. The fact that he survives the initial tripod attack through sheer luck - no acrobatics or implausible hiding, he just doesn't die - shows just how helpless humanity is against this attack. Final thoughts: as perfect as can be really considering the amount of money invested in it and the summer blockbuster - style release.
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Post by Lensman on Jul 4, 2005 15:18:58 GMT
Then there's the video revelation of the alien's transport method, which was really stretching it to say the least. (Can a science person step in and explain if it may be possible for anything to RIDE lightning?). Lightning is nothing but a huge bolt of static electricity. Lightning is energy, and it travels at nearly the speed of light. It's nonsense to say that any material object could "ride" it. It's also nonsense to say that "riding" lightning would let a large object (one of the aliens) squeeze thru a crack in the ground in order to get to a Tripod. The only thing I can think of is that "riding the lightning" is supposed to be something like Star Trek's transporters. That is, a material object is converted to energy, moved to another place, and then converted back to its original material form. And if the aliens had tech *that* advanced-- and presumably had had it for the thousands of years the Tripods were probably buried-- then they should have been using that tech in other ways. Personally, I think the movie would have been better off without that. If we hadn't been shown the "riding the lightning" sequence, we could have assumed the aliens were in suspended animation inside the Tripods, and that the lightning strikes were just used to "wake up" the Tripods.
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Post by Lensman on Jul 4, 2005 15:30:38 GMT
HTT: Why in the world are you setting text color to black in your review? I dunno what settings you've got on your computer, but the default here on an IBM platform is a dark gray background. Black text on dark gray is REALLY hard to read! Please edit your post and remove your color changes.
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Post by jeffwaynefan on Jul 4, 2005 15:40:54 GMT
HTT: Why in the world are you setting text color to black in your review? I dunno what settings you've got on your computer, but the default here on an IBM platform is a dark gray background. Black text on dark gray is REALLY hard to read! Please edit your post and remove your color changes. He did that for a reason, its covering up 'spoilers' but not hiding them completely. Now what I mean
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Post by Lensman on Jul 4, 2005 15:44:38 GMT
D'oh!
Sorry HTT!
Thanx HC!
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Post by jeffwaynefan on Jul 4, 2005 15:47:49 GMT
No probs, good job we dont all do that as it would slowly drive us mad after a while.
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Post by robkral on Jul 4, 2005 17:10:52 GMT
HEy everyone in case you haven't realised this yet, if you want to read the spoilers written in dark text, simply hilight it, or choose "Select all" on your keyboard and BAM you'll see the spoilers very easily.
It's a very good way to post spoilers.
Though anyone reading this thread should probably know that they are "in for it".!!
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