War of the Worlds

Stormowl · Post by **Stormowl** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 10:37 pm

just saw it this afternoon. tom cruise actually does very good in this movie, unlike "the last samurai". the special effects are outstanding.

***SPOILER ALERT***

the only part of the film that was cheesy to me was the "bloodsucking" part. that got into cheesy B-movie territory.

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 8:25 pm

Well i just saw this and i was really dissapointed with it. The war machines/tripods were wonderful and quite scary, but the "human" drama angle was just lame.

***possible spoiler***
I also felt that there was far too much time spent in the house with Tim Robbins, which just broke the pacing of the movie for me. An incredible visual feast for sure, but it lacks that Spielberg magic for me.
It should be noted that i am NOT a Tom Cruise fan. I got the impression that they needed the blood to produce the blood vines.

freddiebamboo · Post by **freddiebamboo** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 11:29 pm

Spielberg has been off the boil for a while I reckon

Bring back the likes of jaws and indy steve!

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:43 am

I've actually paid some interest into this movie. Seeing it is an option, but I haven't been to the movies in over a year and starting now would require me to care about movies.

I may bother to see this. I'm pretty happy that this isn't another movie with Vin Diesel or Brad Pitt in it. Understanding the fact that Tom Cruise has reared his ugly head in crappy-ass movies before, I really don't know.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 7:37 pm

How does this movie compare, in terms of quality, to Independence Day? I certainly hope it's better!

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 7:59 pm

dave4shmups wrote:How does this movie compare, in terms of quality, to Independence Day? I certainly hope it's better!

It's miles better that the atrocity to film that was ID4.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 8:13 pm

Speilberg may have slipped a notch, but to compare his work with anything associated with Independence Day is heresy.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 5:12 am

I enjoyed it... a lot. It was definitely "a ride". The sound blew me away. Of course the human angle is never going to be that good... ever. Has it ever been? In any sci-fi movie? The closest ever was maybe Empire Strikes Back or Star Trek II (not a Trek fan actually) but even those come with a layer of cheese. Even Spielberg's good sci-fi movies... something like Close Encounters... the whole broken family thing was kinda goofy.

If you go in expecting a story other than aliens attacking, you'll be disappointed. Otherwise, strap on your seatbelts.

Also to note, I thoguht it was pretty intense. Definitely not for the kiddies.

Bishamon · Post by **Bishamon** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 2:52 pm

I thought it was really good, bordering on excellent.

I agree that Tim Robbins' scenes were unnecessary; they could have been cut altogether and just had the father and daughter alone in the basement the entire time.

I actually feel the movie could have been longer, with more time spent on what the aliens were doing with the humans, or they could have just left any reference to humans being needed at all out of the film. It seemed like they rushed the last 30 mins or so to keep the movie from being too long, while at the same time they added some unnecessary content earlier on.

I was also a little disappointed that the aliens didn't have three eyes. Wasn't that an important part of the original book? It's been over 20 years since I've read it, so the book, audio adaptation on vinyl, original movie, and the '80s TV series all have aspects that are blurring together in my memory.

Regardless, the machines were excellent, the effects really well done, and the sound (as mentioned by GaijinPunch ) was simply awesome!

Stormowl · Post by **Stormowl** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:43 pm

Bishamon wrote: or they could have just left any reference to humans being needed at all out of the film

i looked up the book on Wiki (the entire book is on Wiki here) and indeed the aliens sucked our blood to be used as their own. i had forgotten about this, i read the book years ago.

Bishamon wrote:I was also a little disappointed that the aliens didn't have three eyes. Wasn't that an important part of the original book?

there were 2 eyes. see the "the cylinder opens" chapter.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:57 pm

felt like a B-movie film with a huge ass budget, which isn't an insult.

the blood-sucking, the boy who in no fucking way could have survived the Battle on Bunker Hill and ended up alive anyways, Tim fucking Robbins (being THE MAN, yet again).

yea, I liked it. Kinda like Day After Tomorrow or whatever it was, you see it for the badass SFX and nothing more. Closure was f'n awful, though,, and the first time we see the aliens the CG looked awful.

but hey, it was good.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 8:50 pm

the blood-sucking, the boy who in no fucking way could have survived the Battle on Bunker Hill

SPOILERS BELOW

Yeah, that of course sucked. While I'm glad it wasn't the perfect ending (I was going to scream Tom and his estranged wife got together) I thought the boy should've died pretty early on.

I need to find some classic Sci-Fi to read.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 12:48 am

After seeing the movie I had an urge to read some early sci-fi too, mainly some Lovecraft stuff. Looking at the Cthulu gives me the heebly jeeblies, what'd I say, the heebly jeeblies :-0

BIG · Post by **BIG** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:18 pm

Man,talk about a major let-down.

Aside from the wonderful special effects by ILM,this film sucked dong like a pro.

W.o.W,my ass

B-

OmegaFlareX · Post by **OmegaFlareX** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:27 pm

My cousin is an extra in this movie. I should go see it.

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:40 pm

OmegaFlareX wrote:My cousin is an extra in this movie. I should go see it.

There's quite a lot of extras in it. Good luck trying to spot him.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 2:50 pm

You guys follow my advice and buy the comic book, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" by Alan Moore / O'Neill.

Buy Vol. 2 and enjoy the best version of W. o. W. out there (this side of the orginal, of course)

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 4:09 pm

Turrican wrote:You guys follow my advice and buy the comic book, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" by Alan Moore / O'Neill.

Buy Vol. 2 and enjoy the best version of W. o. W. out there (this side of the orginal, of course)

It's fantastic isn't it. I still think I prefer vol 1, mainly because I have always had a soft spot for Sax Rohmers Dr. Fu Manchu and the story was a little more solid.

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:17 pm

enjoyed the film, though felt hesitant at the end saying anything more than the film was very entertaining. Somehow the big reunion thing at the end felt completely wrong, and as said, some scenes went on for too long, while other ideas really needed to be explored for longer. Other things simply didn't make sense (why were the aliens hunting down people one by one when there were still droves of people in the cities?)

I also simply didn't like the idea of the tripods being buried under ground for thousands of years. I wanted them to come out of the sky just like the original!

Hehe, and what about that King Kong trailer???!!

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:11 pm

CMoon wrote:
I also simply didn't like the idea of the tripods being buried under ground for thousands of years. I wanted them to come out of the sky just like the original!

Yeah, the idea of super-advanced aliens who buried these machines millions of years ago yet when they come to Earth HAVEN'T figured out they have weak immunities on terra firma is weird.

But had they come out of the sky like in the original, government intelligence would have picked up on it and thus people would have known about it instead of staying home and watching the pretty lightning

different story for a different era.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:27 pm

But if an alien race is able to travel millions of light years through space, I'm sure it must also be able to make themselves undetectable by conventional means.

When it comes to aliens coming to invade us, Signs was a better movie, IMHO.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:31 pm

Specineff wrote:But if an alien race is able to travel millions of light years through space, I'm sure it must also be able to make themselves undetectable by conventional means.

Touche, Mr. Virtua-roid, touche.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:57 am

Saw it, loved it.

Spoilers Follow

Some of those shots really, really impressed me. The part where they're driving the van down the highway and the camera keeps moving in with the actors then outside to show the stunt driving and then back in, all smooth and such..that was just fucking awesome.

I'd probably have loved the movie more if Dakota Fanning had just SHUT THE FUCK UP earlier on. Realistic, but not enjoyable. Other than that, my only other complaint is that wonderkid lived through the inferno. A little too cheesy for my tastes.

Overall, I'd say it was a damn fine movie and I can't wait to see it on DVD so that I can listen to the director's commentary.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 11:29 am

The special effects & Tripod Robots looked amazing but it was quite disappointing the fact that the story was mainly focused on Tom Cruise & his kids, rather than the invasion it self.

Also it didn't make sense that the tripods were buried in the ground for million of years. They should have come charging from the sky inside asteroids like the original.
Its hard to believe that people never came across to something that huge, when digging to build their cities.

It never refers to Mars as their place of origin. It simply says that they were planning this for a long time...

I loved the part when the flaming train passes fast in front of the horrid citizens in that small town.
Reminded me of Metal Slug 2, Gun Force 2 or Contra

But... about in the middle of the movie... it was nerve aching when the soldiers & tanks where charging up hill & the F-22s & Apaches shooting rockets, but it never actually shows what they were firing at.
Instead Tom Cruise is trying to stop his retarded son from following the soldiers into battle...
It was shocking that he managed to survive in the end too!

The so called drama experience Spielberg is trying to spit out throughout the movie, was hilarious imo.

The old classic 'War of The Worlds Movie" was much better than this imo.

Wasn't there supposed to be another 2 "War of The Worlds" movies coming out?
One was supposed to be a JPN Anime... I think?

dok_industrial · Post by **dok_industrial** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:37 am

so i finally went and saw this movie, wanted to share my thoughts.

after realizing that i had spent the entire film without taking a full breath, i could only think to myself, holy shit.

i suppose i've become far less jaded and more "fanboy" than i was, say, 5 years ago, b/c i thoroughly, completely enjoyed this movie. as far as "alien earth invasion" flicks go, screw ID4 or even signs. as far as "it's the end of the world at the hands of superior forces" movies, screw terminator or the matrix. spielberg took all of his considerable movie-making talent, experience and expertise, rolled it all up, and put it together for this. yeah, the ending was kinda bitch-ass (the family reunion and son surviving part, not the alien death part). but after everything else that had happened before, i was willing to forgive these things.

i really liked the human drama story; by focusing on it, it emphasized the horror/terror of what was happening. i also thought it was well presented.

it's only of the only movies i can honestly think of that i wish i could see "for the first time" again--while i'm sure i'll like it when i go see it again, i just don't think it'll carry the same smack-in-the face shock impact.

overall though, two thumbs up, and high HIGH recommendations.

Ramus · Post by **Ramus** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 1:51 am

Specineff wrote:But if an alien race is able to travel millions of light years through space, I'm sure it must also be able to make themselves undetectable by conventional means.

When it comes to aliens coming to invade us, Signs was a better movie, IMHO.

If the aliens were so advanced, wouldn't they have made a crazy all purpose vaccine? They can ride bolts of lightning to get to underground machines but they die from bacteria and/or viruses. Stupid ending.

Everything was all good until the end.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 5:39 am

That is correct. However, if I recall the book correctly, they got infected with a virus through the air, meaning that it was some sort of respiratory disease. And we all know the common cold is impossible to vaccinate against since each case is different. So my theory here is that they developed a vaccine all right, but weren't ready to fight all the different strains that our earthly common viruses/virii mutate into.

By the same token we all could be wiped out by a disease come from outer space.