Review of War of the Worlds (2005) by Cesar A — 03 Oct 2014

This is a remake of the 1953 classic movie. The original book was set in 1890's England and was a criticism of the British Empire. In the 19th Century the European colonial powers used their advanced technology to conquer primitive civilizations in Asia and Africa.

H. G. Wells wanted his English readers to think about how they would feel if an advanced civilization invaded England. In the 1890's scientists still believed that there were canals on Mars. Since we've put space probes and rovers on Mars we know the canals don't exist and there are no Martians.

In this movie Spielberg had the aliens come from underground and never explained where they came from. If the aliens don't come from another planet then the end where the aliens are killed by bacteria doesn't make since.

He also turned the story into one of his chase movies. He concentrated on the relationship of Tom Cruise's character with his children as they ran from the aliens. As the aliens killed people by the hundreds, Tom Cruise and his family remained untouched.

His take on the story is more about how people react during a disaster. My sister gave me this DVD as a Christmas present. She bought the full screen version. The wide screen version is probably better.

In the middle of the movie when they are hiding in the basement of a farm house you can tell there is something missing from the sides of the scenes. H. G. Wells' story has become one of the classic Science Fiction plots.

Any story of a clash of civilizations with different levels of technology is just retelling the War of The Worlds. In a way the story is as old as civilization. Whenever technology advanced, the civilizations with the more advanced weapons would conquer their more primitive neighbors.