Name:Christiana Ellis
Name:Mike Meitín
Movie Review: War of the Worlds
As my friend and I sat watching the end credits of Spielberg's latest, War of the Worlds, one word immediately came to mind: Intense. For a while, we were so shell-shocked that we lacked any other words to describe the film, so we just kept saying "intense" over and over again. After giving it some more thought, I've decided to add "amazing" to the mix.
Note that neither "intense" nor "amazing" mean perfect. The film has flaws. The characters aren't terribly deep. The first two-thirds are better than the last one. A hide-and -seek sequence goes on so long that it begins to defy plausibility. A few plot elements feel unnecessary.
Finally, the movie makes the interesting and original move of making the protagonist just an average Joe, rather than a top scientist or a soldier or a government official. This is good. It puts a fresh spin on the film and adds some tension by virtue of the fact that we don't really know what's going on beyond what we can see right in front of us. The downside, however, of this laudable storytelling move is that it lets the movie aliens get away with all sorts of things that don't really make any sense, and the justification is that "we don't understand" their motives. That's a little frustrating.
All of that said, if you're like me, you got goosebumps during the trailers and TV spots for this film. And you know what? As I sat there watching the trailers, I was not thinking: "Gosh, I bet the character interactions in that are going to be deep and nuanced!" Likewise, I was not thinking: "You know, I think the actions and motives of those aliens are all going to be coherent and plausible according to modern scientific theories."
No. What I was thinking was: "Holy S#!@, that movie looks kick-ass! Did you see that freakin' highway overpass flying through the air? That looks awesome!"
On that level, this movie delivers in spades. It's intense... and amazing.
Seriously, you may not actually be prepared for how scary this is. DO NOT take little kids to this movie! I'd say no younger than 10, and only if those ten-year-olds are pretty mature for their age.
The slow build at the beginning is... um... intense and amazing. Some of the big action sequences and effects? Intense and amazing.
Basically, the point is that you should see this movie on a big screen with kick-ass sound or you really might as well not bother. Spielberg is a freakin' genius at making films that are, well, intense and amazing.
Note: I'd advise against reading a lot of reviews for this before seeing it. Lets face it, your mind is already made up anyway, and it's just a matter of timing. And a lot of supposedly non-spoiler reviews are giving away things that I wish I hadn't known going in, so just head on out to the theater before you accidentally ruin a couple of the surprises for yourself.
.
Note that neither "intense" nor "amazing" mean perfect. The film has flaws. The characters aren't terribly deep. The first two-thirds are better than the last one. A hide-and -seek sequence goes on so long that it begins to defy plausibility. A few plot elements feel unnecessary.
Finally, the movie makes the interesting and original move of making the protagonist just an average Joe, rather than a top scientist or a soldier or a government official. This is good. It puts a fresh spin on the film and adds some tension by virtue of the fact that we don't really know what's going on beyond what we can see right in front of us. The downside, however, of this laudable storytelling move is that it lets the movie aliens get away with all sorts of things that don't really make any sense, and the justification is that "we don't understand" their motives. That's a little frustrating.
All of that said, if you're like me, you got goosebumps during the trailers and TV spots for this film. And you know what? As I sat there watching the trailers, I was not thinking: "Gosh, I bet the character interactions in that are going to be deep and nuanced!" Likewise, I was not thinking: "You know, I think the actions and motives of those aliens are all going to be coherent and plausible according to modern scientific theories."
No. What I was thinking was: "Holy S#!@, that movie looks kick-ass! Did you see that freakin' highway overpass flying through the air? That looks awesome!"
On that level, this movie delivers in spades. It's intense... and amazing.
Seriously, you may not actually be prepared for how scary this is. DO NOT take little kids to this movie! I'd say no younger than 10, and only if those ten-year-olds are pretty mature for their age.
The slow build at the beginning is... um... intense and amazing. Some of the big action sequences and effects? Intense and amazing.
Basically, the point is that you should see this movie on a big screen with kick-ass sound or you really might as well not bother. Spielberg is a freakin' genius at making films that are, well, intense and amazing.
Note: I'd advise against reading a lot of reviews for this before seeing it. Lets face it, your mind is already made up anyway, and it's just a matter of timing. And a lot of supposedly non-spoiler reviews are giving away things that I wish I hadn't known going in, so just head on out to the theater before you accidentally ruin a couple of the surprises for yourself.
.
Posted by Christiana on
Thursday June 30, 2005 at 2:16pm
