Directed by:
Steven SpielbergScreenplay:
David KoeppCinematography:
Janusz KaminskiComposer:
John WilliamsCast:
Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Rick Gonzalez, Yul Vazquez, Lisa Ann Walter, Ann Robinson, Gene Barry, Peter Gerety (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
The extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it. Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop of his teenage son Robbie and young daughter Rachel for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
Though intimately conceived, War of the Worlds is an emotionally cold and, in terms of plot, concise summer blockbuster. Fortunately, however, it has such a large helping of horror excitement that it’s a joy to watch. The movie is a technically brilliant gem that made my heart pound and caused me to check the sky in paranoia as I was leaving the cinema. That’s what it was all about for the film’s creators – simply take us through a series of scenes, half of which are begging for deeper development in the screenwriting, but their visual and sound aspects (Spielberg’s directing + Kaminski’s documentary-style cinematography = gold), paralyze us with fear and nail us to our seats. If there had been more likable characters and an opportunity to really get to know them, this could have been the movie of the year. As it stands, the “only” thing that remains is tremendous amazement from the individual parts. Some of the film’s scenes will be quoted and imitated.
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Nope. Upon watching this a second time, it definitely wasn't the same, and there are plenty of things that typically bother me about Spielberg - the melodrama, which is sometimes unnecessary, the excessive pathos, and scenes that are stretched out without affecting me. In fact, I didn't even feel the tension anymore. It almost seems like I want to start a "I Hate Spielberg" club, but this film still belongs to those that I can tolerate from him.
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Spielberg's version of War of the Worlds is a great counterpoint to the tradition of the disaster films. It is a film unusually turned in on itself, which mostly despises the monumentality of battles and the pathos of heroism. It focuses on three small, insignificant points that are desperately tossing in the wild tide of war, and they have no time left for any heroism, phrases, or nationalism. The actors' portrayals of the three points is famous – the chemistry of the family trio is especially dramatized by the tiny Dakota Fanning, whose life is worth much more, from the point of view of the film's narrator, than some Statue of Liberty, the White House and other hitherto indispensable elements of the genre. Tom Cruise doesn't surprise me anymore – I know he's one of the best, and Ray Ferrier just confirms it. Steven Spielberg uses the wonderfully functioning magic of the characters and holds them close to the body through Janusz Kaminský's phenomenal camera. The result is an intense and unusually intimate spectacle, into which the luster and glory of the great battles of mankind reaches only in the form of vague messages. John Williams' unusually introverted soundtrack and, of course, the magnificent effects, which are among the best ever, complete the dense atmosphere of War of the Worlds. The most impressive moments are scenes with hints of the destruction of mankind – the rain of clothes, hundreds dead in the river... Spielberg has become the ultimate leader of contemporary spectacular science fiction with this film. His films have a soul, they have an engaging visual, they have spark. And unfortunately, they have broken endings. In War of the Worlds, the problem is not in the idea, but the fact that the cliché, which had been successfully avoided until then, strikes like a bolt of lightning at the end. Too bad. A weaker 5*.
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Mediocre in almost all respects. Except from a few individual scenes (the plane, the port, the train) and nice sound, this is nothing but a random onslaught of scenes, mundane actors, uninspiring music and a pleasantly “well-worn" look. If you’re looking for an intelligent, different slant on alien invasion, Signs is a better choice. This certainly isn’t bad or boring - Spielberg is too good and experienced a filmmaker to allow that, but I can’t help thinking that here we get his routine work and nothing more. Unfortunately he found support neither in the actors or in the screenplay. ♫ OST score: 3/5
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The more logic he gets on his side, the more surprisingly Steven Spielberg is able to win in completely different fields with suspense and unexpectedly perfectionist action. With Tom Cruise as the traditionally determined main hero, he couldn't possibly go wrong.
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Gallery (131)
Photo © 2005 Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks
![War of the Worlds - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/136/158136673_84418e.jpg)
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