Movie Review
War of the Worlds
The ending of this movie pissed me off. Other than
that...Hot Fiya!
by: Reggie Eggert, for Entertainment
Tom Cruise plays himself AKA Ray Ferrier,
a cocky, carefree, mischievous, boyish and irresponsible full-time
dock worker and part-time shitty dad in Steven Spielberg's updated
version of H.G. Wells' classic novel War of the Worlds.
No matter what anyone says about Cruise's off-screen antics, from
his overdone romance with Katie Holmes to his condescending medical
advice to former Jordache model, Broke Shields, no one can deny
that when it comes to playing Tom Cruise, no one does it better
than Tom Cruise.
Johnny
Depp and Colin Farrell need to just step the fuck off, because
they can't convey that same level of 'tensity that Cruise brings
to certain scenes. I'm sorry, but I don't want to see Johnny Depp
trying to act anywhere near aliens, especially after The Astronaut's
Wife. As for Farrell, he owes his only blockbuster (Minority
Report) to Cruise, so he and his fans can stop the talk of
him replacing Cruise. That jackass needs to worry about replacing
people's money for that damn Alexander.
I hate to compare, but I enjoyed this film much more than M. Night
Shaymalan's Signs. Whereas Signs seemed to be
suspenseful for the sake of it, much like all of Shaymalan's work,
the action in Worlds takes place at a believably frenetic
pace and the reactions of the characters seem much more plausible,
as terror and fear win out over shock and awe. The pure fright
on Cruise's face as he sprints through a frantic crowd and realizes
that people on all sides of him are being vaporized by aliens
is powerful indeed. ACTING! You gotta love it. Unlike Mel Gibson,
Cruise does not try to reassure his children, played by Dakota
Fanning and some pretty boy who can't fucking act, that he will
protect them and everything will be fine. He's scared to death.
You can see it in eyes for the first 45 minutes of the movie.
Every gesture and word by Cruise is punctuated with an expression
that conveys this one horrifying thought: "ALIENS ARE
TRYING TO KILL US AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD! CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS
SHIT? ALIENS! FINE! FINE!"
Although I'm not the biggest fan of Spielberg, I have to give
him credit for the feel and look of this film. It's like a bad
B-movie, except that it's very well done. The scenes showing the
alien machines wiping out hundreds of human beings at a time on
streets, fields and forests all across the world are mesmerizing.
Mass killings never looked so damn cool. I've never denied Spielberg's
talent for visuals. In my book, he's just a notch below the master,
Scorsese, in that department. It's his unwillingness to be firm
with the audience. He doesn't trust the audience to understand
that every story doesn't have to have an uplifting happy ass ending.
It's sickening! And that brings me to my only criticism of this
film and why I refused to give it a perfect rating:
SPOILER:
The character of Ferrier's son, Robbie, was an asshole. This kid
was unlikable to the fullest. He whined and pouted the whole time
about what a bad father he had. Mankind is being exterminated
by bloodthirsty aliens and this snotty little bitch is throwing
a tantrum the whole time. Anyway, the kid, in some bizarre display
of bravery, offers his unsolicited help to the U.S. Military in
their battle against the invaders. So, he follows a tank over
this ridge and onto the battlefield and we don't see him again.
The next thing we see is a massive fucking explosion. It lit up
the entire screen. I had soot on my face from this thing. But,
knowing it was a Spielberg film, I just frowned and begged helplessly,
"Oh, for fuck's sake, don't let him live through that."
Guess what? HE WAS THERE AT THE END!!! HE LIVED!!! And he had
the nerve to be happy to see his father. I swear I was so angry
I could have killed a basket full of puppies.
This movie also solidifies Dakota Fanning's place among elite
actresses, no matter the age. That little girl is a talent.
And Tim Robbins' role as an insane freedom fighter is also Hot
Fiya. Tim good.
