Joe Anyman faces the aliens
I saw War of the Worlds last night. Impressive. I confess, I went into it a little skeptical. All the Tom and Katie hype has turned me off a tad. But -- it's a Steven Spielberg movie and I tend to enjoy Spielberg's work. I also have vivid memories of listening to the radio drama by Orson Welles when I was a kid. (I think a teacher played it for us in grade school.) I wasn't sure how this was going to play out in a film.
I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like this. The aliens invade and we never see the President or the joint chiefs meeting. We don't see the hot shot fighter pilot blowing up anything. We don't have the "girl next door" who, strangely enough, looks like a supermodel and needs to be rescued. This is a story of what would happen to you or me if aliens invaded. How could I survive (or not) on the ground with no special knowledge or talents? A few things happened in the last minute of the movie that I thought were pretty unbelievable. (As much as any movie about aliens is "believable.") You'll see what I mean when you see it. Those things didn't ruin my enjoyment of the movie, however.
I don't think I've been that tense coming out of a movie in a long time. I mentioned to my friend who was with me that this movie really needed a very comfortable couch and someone with a shoulder I could hide my face in every once in a while! :-) Spielberg kept ratcheting up the tension. I think that's one of his gifts as a filmmaker. All in all, great summer flick. Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning did a great job. I'd give it a B+.
posted by Jill Pole @ 7/05/2005
3 Comments:
Saw War of the Worlds last night. Listened to/read it in high school, but didn't remember how it was going to unfold, so the suspense was awful. Very disturbing. I think this sort of thing taps into the meaninglessness of a universe without God. It would really have driven the point home if the end were more apocalyptic. As a Christian, I want to say that such things could not happen, that there is something essentially nihilistic about such a scenario. Perhaps because it seemed to have no possibility of redemption (total annihilation), which is impossible with God. The fear we sense is irrational, but exploits something deep in us that fails to understand God and his character.
I may write about this on my blog.
Chris - I think I agree with you that one of the things that makes this film suspenseful is that it does take place in a world without God. However, I'm not quite sure that it's exploiting anything in the Christian viewer that fails to understand God. I enjoyed being afraid for the characters in the film, all the while knowing that they were simply characters living out a story that takes place in a world without God. Maybe the frightening thing is that so many people believe that the world is truly like that. That there is no Savior. If true, the world would be a very frightening place... aliens or no aliens. I'm glad it's not.
I think one of the things that makes this film disturbing is the lack of control. Usually in a big sci-fi movie, the hero vanquishes the threat. There is something in us that likes that. In 'War of the Worlds,' the hero does nothing that leads to the defeat of the threat. Neither does anyone else. They just die. The end result is that we (as humans) have very little control over our fate. I think that's probably a pretty disturbing idea for the audience, especially here in the U.S.
Those are just a few random thoughts. Thanks for making me think a little deeper. Always a blessing! Take care.
I'm a huge Dakota fan but didn't know if I would watch this movie. I'm less sure now after your review (which I appreciate). I don't mind suspense, but not the type that makes me tense. I mostly watch movies to escape feelings and feel inspired. However, as you mentioned, watching it at home may be an option. I look forward to seeing how Dakota's career goes as she grows.
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