Tanya Batson Savage, Freelance Writer
FROM LEFT: Tim Robbins, Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning in a scene from the movie, 'War Of The Worlds'. - CONTRIBUTED
WAR OF The Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg is the latest take on H.G. Wells' classic science fiction tale. Once again the story has been moved to the United States, where it follows Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his family and their bid to survive an alien invasion.
Ferrier is a relatively hapless father who is left with his two children Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and Rachel (Dakota Fanning - apparently the family has a thing for 'Rs') for the weekend. He is emotionally separated from both, but in particular his teenage son. Ray does not understand his daughter and his son resents him, which is probably typical of teenage boys anyway. And, of course, there is nothing like an invasion to bind people together.
NO ORDINARY WEEKEND
So, on what should have been an ordinary weekend, the aliens invade. This alien attack comes not from al-Qaida but from unnamed extraterrestrials. At the stage in earth's history where the first commercial trip to outer space is being planned, we now have to move well beyond Mars for enemies.
But the story is not about the alien invasion. It is about how a family survives it. Despite the possibilities to play around with the special effects in creating the invaders (who look quite similar to the ones who came in Independence Day) the aliens and their weaponry are pretty ordinary. Instead, the story focuses on Ferrier's desperate attempt to keep his family alive.
Ferrier is not a hero, and that makes him interesting. Most stories dealing with alien invasions look at the brave and the few who go up against the deadly enemy. However, Ferrier has only one goal in mind, and that is to keep his family alive. His ordinariness makes him relatable and his terror and impotence understandable.
So, War Of The Worlds is really a story of a man's love for his family, disguised as a blockbuster. The importance of the human element comes most clearly with Tim Robbins' character. Robbins plays Ogilvy. The portrayal is fascinating and highlights Robbins' immense talent. His role in the film is relatively short, but it is some of the best moments.
The movie also paints an interesting picture of human beings. It seems that earth is ripe for attack because apparently humans are not very bright and so we're pretty easy targets. So, when the mysterious hole appears in the ground, and even after the ground separates and things start to come up out of it, they do not run. Instead, they wait until the last moment and provide great targets for the tripod thingies. It also shows how selfish we can be to the bitter end. However, the movie's close-up attention to the Ferrier family means that almost everybody else is seen at a distance.
WELLS WOULD BE PROUD
War Of The Worlds is entertaining and gives H.G. Wells no reason to turn over in his grave. However, it is not mind-blowing. The story is tied together at both ends with narration by Morgan Freeman, who has the perfect timbre for the task. Fanning is also a good selection as her amazingly wide eyes seem to gobble up the screen. Cruise does a decent job, which one would expect of him.
If one is expecting a war of cataclysmic proportions with computer-generated aliens and death ships, one may be disappointed. War Of The Worlds is an intimate story of survival. The aliens are kept largely in the background though the destruction they bring is clear enough. It might not make you afraid to look up at the sky, but it is worthy of being watched.
