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Back Shelf Beauties
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War of the Worlds Forget all of the junk about TomKat, Cruise's assertion of his Scientology views, tension between Tom and the press, and those idiot pranksters who sprayed him with the squirting microphone (they were jerks). War of the Worlds is a tense, emotional, dramatic, fantastic thriller sure to be the highlight of your summer if you go to see it, so just buy a ticket, get some popcorn, sit back and enjoy getting the living daylights scared out of you. Tom Cruise stars as Ray - a divorced father of two who works on the loading docks in the New York City area (possibly across the river, on the Jersey side). He's not the best dad in the world, and this has caused a huge rift in his relationship with his daughter, Rachel (Dakota Fanning), and son, Robbie (Justin Chatwin). As they are visiting for the weekend, massive lightening storms breakout across the planet, signaling the beginning of a strange attack that threatens all of humanity. Not knowing what else to do, Ray, Robbie and Rachel join the millions of people trying to run away from danger, but where will they go? Who will survive? What is causing this attack? Can it be stopped? Spielberg has created another classic film we will watch over and over again for years to come because it moves the audience on so many levels. War of the Worlds is visually stunning as we watch mass destruction on a scale and with detail you haven't seen before in movies. It makes Independence Day look like The Muppet Movie as we see entire cities under attack, desperate citizens close to rioting, the indestructible razed to the ground, explosions, fire, and everything we treasure eliminated. All throughout the movie, Spielberg draws you into the middle of it, including chases through the streets, dodging explosions and danger, hiding wherever you can, and frantic driving to get away from danger zones (with some awesome camera work as we move in, out and around the car as it drives down the road). However, Spielberg truly blows us away with the tense, eerie, silent moments, where the audience waits for something frightening to happen, and jumps when it does. Even better, Spielberg and writer David Koepp (based on the novel by HG Wells) brilliantly make us connect with Ray, Robbie and Rachel, which gets the audience emotionally invested in their plight. We see the family dynamics and how a war rages between the three of them as another war rages outside. Koepp does a wonderful job creating a complex web of familial relationships that is a rough, raw portrayal of a family torn apart and how each one tries to function within the fractured system. Fanning makes you ache as she tries to stop the fighting between Ray and Robbie, as well as the horrible fear she feels as unspeakable atrocities are committed around her, while Chatwin makes Robbie more than just an angry teenager. Koepp even finds a few moments to lay down some good dialogue, including a moving moment when Ray is trying to convince the kids everything will be alright, but we know he's just trying to convince himself. Cruise is a compelling lead as he brings determination and inner turmoil to Ray. He plays a convincing cad, showing the audience how Ray's personality can attract and repel, and truly embraces the idea of being a bad father instead of trying to temper the character's faults. Best of all, Cruise lets us see how Ray views the world and what he feels is important, and how it changes while in the middle of Armageddon. Suddenly, the cockiness and anger dissolves into anguish. You see Cruise display Ray's pain as the children reacting to the danger by further cutting him out as well as the character's struggles to say the right thing, but not knowing what it is he should say. You want to jump out of your seat and scream the lines to Ray, which shows you how emotionally involved you have become. It's very quiet, but powerful acting. War of the Worlds could have been a little bit longer and Spielberg could have taken more time to show how the situation is resolved, but it's still fantastic. 4 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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