Review of War of the Worlds (2005) by Cody C — 03 Feb 2013

Director Steven Spielberg's take on H.G. Wells' novel "War of the Worlds" is a dark and realistic film that convinces that this is what it could be like if we were indeed invaded by extraterrestrials.

This film is akin to a horror film in which the movie features several horrific moments that echoes 9/11 and the Holocaust and people going beyond desperation like an event witnessed from a diner. While Dakota Fanning's performance seems to relegated to looking scared and screaming, Tom Cruise delivers an effective performance as he is playing a more human role compared to the action and charismatic roles he has played now and in the past.

He is flawed human being who is not a good father, but as the movie progresses, he becomes a man who is willing to do anything(sometimes murder) to protect his famiy. The special effects and the designs of the war machines from the walking gait to the heat ray as the Martians' weapon-of-choice is quite impressive.

The movie is far from perfect as it has a weak final act that includes the first appearance of the aliens (badly designed and unimaginative) and Cruise fighting a Tripod.