War of the Worlds (2005)

At first, I was utterly hooked by this film, but even after giving it a lot of thought for years, the best word to describe it is … decent. This is definitely not a Spielberg masterpiece like I saw on the DVD cover, but it is entertaining and has its moments.

The scene in which the bridge passes by the car while Tom Cruise is driving with his kids is remarkable. This was really the first Spielberg film after 9/11. He made this film at a time when the catastrophic event was much more synonymous with terrorism than assistance in an Independence Day scenario. That might destroy the era feeling of the film or perhaps downgrading does nothing for you, because I enjoy it.

The automatic conclusion is of course to compare to the 1953 classic. I’ll do my utmost to stay away from that. They are disparate movies with different messages and they tell their stories in a unique manner. The emotional hub of this movie is around Tom Cruise with his two alienated kids Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin.

Of course, there’s some of it (after all, it is Spielberg), but it’s nothing to worry about. It mainly works fine, except for at the very end.

Before elaborating on my last point, I will first share my overall thoughts concerning the film. The film is certainly of quality, but it leaves much to be desired. It is thrilling while keeping the viewer entertained, but it also lacks a certain depth and is not as well polished as the other films made by Spielberg in his peak period.

My last point is centred on how I think Spielberg has developed throughout the years. I remember thinking back on the last time Spielberg was a dominant name in the blockbuster scene for Hollywood before Ready Player One was released, there was a massive dry spell. Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., the Indiana Jones movies, and Jurassic Park are enough to singlehandedly put one’s career on an upward trajectory. This was prior to Ready Player One, and it may have been his last big movie. It was definitely not in the same league as Jurassic Park.

Another way in which Spielberg has changed is pressing, and apparent in this film: he’s less risk-taking now. This is a safe movie. Even worse, it is so well protected from negative criticism that the heavy implication of Tom Cruise’s son dying, reveals, him being uninjured at the end of the film.

Consider the traditional Spielberg. He most definitely had family-friendly sensibilities, yet God, his E.T. gun scene cuts were way too extreme for the ai predictive text to comprehend while juxtaposing Temple of Doom’s child slavery and heart removal. A kid shark and a monkey eating a poisoned date in Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark respectively. Oh, and who could forget shia LaBeouf swinging like Tarzan from trees with monkeys in his kingdom of the crystal skull?

I don’t mean to suggest that War of the Worlds was the starting point for Spielberg’s fame as a director. He surely seems like a different type of filmmaker from the 90s. (I think of the child who is attacked by companies in The Lost World and later has Hammond claiming she is alive.) I bring this up because I think this may have something to do with why the recent Spielberg has not been too remarkable. The Post was about as safe a drama as you can make Schindler’s List. Bridge of Spies was kind of the same way. Catch Me If You Can is a very fun movie. But it is also a very shallow movie. The last film I can recall Spielberg doing such good work was when he made Munich and dealt with very bold and tumultuous issues. It is disappointing and I think the lack of risk taking attitude does hurt this movie a bit.

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