now i know many dislike spielberg's latest effort in War of the Worlds, denouncing it as being unfaithful to the novel, pretentious, silly n lacking the 'oomph' factor. i m by no means a huge fan of the movie, but think that it isn't as bad as some (i m not going to say who, hah) make it out to be.
first of all, this is a SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER!!! n by that, we can expect state-of-the-art visual effects from the hallowed labs of ILM. one amazing sequence is that of the exploding highway as ray(gd ol' tom) frantically attempts to speed his children out of the invaded town. the entire sequence is filmed as one long continuous shot without a single edit, seamlessly combining on-set footage with realistic bluescreen work. there is also the much-hyped ferry scene which, though spectacular, didn't work much for me. nevertheless, the production design n cinematography of the film is suitably grand for the summer blockbuster mould. images of an entire town wrapped in dried veins of human blood and the first revelation of the impressive tripods are unforgettable.
some claim that the story doesn't focus enough on the alien invasion itself, n spends too much time on ray n his children. but i think ray's story is the whole point of this movie. this movie is abt a man who started out as a selfish jerk who would do nothing for his children turning into someone who would do anything for his children. so why is it called War of the Worlds? well, COZ IT SHOWS A BLOODY ALIEN INVASION!!! ahh BUT! if the entire film focuses on the alien invasion only, it could also be called Independence Day, the film which any self-respecting director wouldn't care to be involved with. spielberg's movie, however, is abt the journey of a father whose transformation is brought abt within the context of a war of two worlds, n this intrusion into the heart of humanity is what triggers his parental instinct to protect his children. n of coz i m sure u guys know spielberg loves to inject this sort of warm fuzzy family themes into his movies. but admittedly, the notion of having aliens die of bacteria due to silly carelessness on their part lacks logic. i have no argument for this, so moving on...
THE ACTING!! nobody in this movie is gonna win any oscars, but tom cruise does well for what is required of him, though i always find him a little too intense and pretentious for my taste. dakota (what kind of name is that?!) fanning is fantastic. to be able to avoid being overwhelmed n acting silly in a movie with actors like tom cruise n tim robbins is an achievement unto itself for a child actor. sure, she does scream a hell lot, but it didn't felt overbearing. i thought she did a great job of acting terrified. the guy who plays her brother is annoying though; can't understand why he just won't cooperate with his father for a second. tim robbins is on form as always playing the paranoid underground refugee. miranda otto should have gotten more screentime, but her basic purpose in this film is just to serve as the objective of the 'quest' of the journey, so yup. i can't care less abt the stepfather.
overall, my opinion of this movie, whether it is a good summer film or a lousy stinker, is influenced by other summer flicks of this year. in terms of story, i think Batman Begins has a far superior one. in terms of visual effects, i think Star Wars beats it hands down. in terms of acting, tom cruise cannot hope to measure up to christian bale. in terms of the director, spielberg is infinitely more accomplished than the others, but tt is inconsequential. so War of the Worlds is not such a fantastic movie after all. but guys, it's not that bad la, RIGHT?
-weikee
the class united @
4:56 PM
Emily,KAWAII!
Kelvin,FUCK YOU!
Raymond,SEX WITH STRANGERS!
Shane,I SMARTER THAN NORMAN!
Simin,I LIKE (T)BERRY!
Angela,AH!I'M CRAZY!
Alvyn,YAN CAN COOK!
Karen,WHERE AM I?
Michelle,SMU ROCKS!
Norman,I AM SO SMART!
Wei Kee,I LIKE TO WANK.
and featuring special guest,ALVERINA.
Collectively:oh my GAWD SHUT UP!
