a terable movie
the pacing is bad the character interaction feels fake the daughter is nothing but annoying and the climax doesn't last long enough it builds for most of the movie and then wraps up in 10 mins
- 18.July.2011
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- by: john
- john rated this movie
 2/10Bad
a terable movie
the pacing is bad the character interaction feels fake the daughter is nothing but annoying and the climax doesn't last long enough it builds for most of the movie and then wraps up in 10 mins
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A thematic mess
A bad film. I didn't care much for the characters - even little Dakota Fanning is a bit irritating with her constant squealing.
In addition, so many parts of the story just seem random or pointless. For example: whilst fleeing alien attack, Tom...
- 31.May.2011
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- by: ndall
- ndall rated this movie2/10Bad
A thematic mess
A bad film. I didn't care much for the characters - even little Dakota Fanning is a bit irritating with her constant squealing.
In addition, so many parts of the story just seem random or pointless. For example: whilst fleeing alien attack, Tom Cruise and family meet up with and then promptly get separated from a woman he knows and her daughter. What happened to them? We don't know. What do we learn about Cruise's character as a result? Nothing. At one point Cruise's son begs him to leave him behind. Is this about learning to let your kids grow up? Well not really, because he has no choice: if he doesn't leave his son he'll get separated from his young daughter. They encounter Tim Robbins in a basement. Cruise does something shocking to prevent him recklessly going at the aliens all guns blazing. Fine, but the movie is so lacking in a thought-out structure or theme that you don't really know what the point of that sub-plot was.
The Morgan Freeman voiceover in some ways was the best bit, but felt totally incongruous with what was otherwise not much more than a special effects showcase - which is presumably why Freeman was relegated to a short passage before the story starts and another after it ends. The ending comes completely out of nowhere, which I suspect is in keeping with HG Wells' original story. But any decent script would prepare the audience for it in some way, introducing the concepts involved much earlier on to prevent it feeling like a Deus Ex Machina. None of the protagonists have any serious effect on the alien attack at all, which would be fine, if their personal story was in any way interesting, or had thematic links with the fate of the aliens in some clever way.
But no. Thousands are being slaughtered, the human race faces annihilation and we're apparently supposed to care whether a rather dislikeable man learns to connect with his mildly annoying kids a bit better.
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This is a glistening, relentless film, taut with power. The invaders are dark, implacable. This work is profoundly frightening and I suspect many who toss it off are simply turning away from its more disturbing undertones. Despite the spectacular...
- 04.March.2011
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- by: Dale Williams
- Dale Williams rated this movie0/10
This is a glistening, relentless film, taut with power. The invaders are dark, implacable. This work is profoundly frightening and I suspect many who toss it off are simply turning away from its more disturbing undertones. Despite the spectacular visual effects, the actors are permitted to act and the story is driven to its ironic end. But see this film and decide who's right for yourself.
- 04.March.2011
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- by: Dale Williams
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This movie was full of suspense, but short on plot. The movie played out lacking quite a bit of logical sense so it never felt very sincere, which is too bad because it meant the movie never reached the "This could be a real possibility!" feeling....
- 24.March.2009
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- by: Nicole Hammond
- Nicole Hammond rated this movie4/10Disappointing
This movie was full of suspense, but short on plot. The movie played out lacking quite a bit of logical sense so it never felt very sincere, which is too bad because it meant the movie never reached the "This could be a real possibility!" feeling. The special effects, aliens and their crafts, etc were pretty neat, however they played up the gore (and spurting blood) more then i felt was necessary and I didn't really enjoy those parts because it makes me feel queasy. That could just be me.
The acting was pretty subpar. If you loved the book- as I did -this movie might be worth a watch to add some perspective visualizing the tripods, but really dont expect to be too impressed.
- 24.March.2009
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- by: Nicole Hammond
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Man, I really liked this movie!!! I know part of it might be from all the hype and some of the reviews I read at Ain't It Cool News, but I've seen through the hype on most movies, so I think my opinion is real. My wife really liked it too, and she...
- 23.March.2009
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- by: Jason
- Jason rated this movie
 10/10Must See
Man, I really liked this movie!!! I know part of it might be from all the hype and some of the reviews I read at Ain't It Cool News, but I've seen through the hype on most movies, so I think my opinion is real. My wife really liked it too, and she is very honest when it comes to movies, even if she knows I like them.
War of the Worlds is a screen adaptation of the novel written by H.G. Wells in which aliens from another planet come to destroy the inhabitants of earth. In the movie, we follow Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his son (Justin Chatwin) and daughter (Dakota Fanning) as they attempt to escape the terror and destruction of the aliens and go to Boston where Ray's ex-wife (Miranda Otto) is supposed to be. Ray is a terrible father to his children, who seem to barely know him, but he seems to get a new lease on their relationship by surviving this ordeal.
The special effects in this movie are the BEST I've ever seen, and I am predicting an Oscar for best visual effects. The movie, on the other hand, won't win an Oscar for much else, but I really enjoyed watching it for more than the special effects. This film is terrifying, real, grips you from the very first alien sequence and doesn't let go until the end. You are on the edge of your seat the entire time, wondering what is going to happen next. And speaking of the first alien sequence - watching the way the aliens kill people has to be seen to be believed. It is spectacular and horrifying at the same time. The ending is okay, and stays true to the book from what I hear, but I was expecting something more spectacular.
Besides some of the plot holes, this movie is just awesome. The acting is great, and the effects and meant to only be seen in a theater. Please go out and see this movie before you rent it, and you won't be sorry. I'm going to try and see it again soon!
- 23.March.2009
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- by: Jason
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I expected the story to be familiar, but it mechanically told and the characters had very little depth. It was basically a showcase for special effects, but amazingly the DVD wasn't encoded as anamorphic widescreen, meaning that if you watch on a...
- 23.March.2009
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- by: nhunt
- nhunt rated this movie4/10Disappointing
I expected the story to be familiar, but it mechanically told and the characters had very little depth. It was basically a showcase for special effects, but amazingly the DVD wasn't encoded as anamorphic widescreen, meaning that if you watch on a widescreen TV, you'll see a small picture with black letterbox bands above and below as well as black panel bars left and right.
In a plot filled with barely believable angles, the ending was especially weak. The best part of the DVD was the documentary on development of the concepts for the tripods and aliens.
- 23.March.2009
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- by: nhunt
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What is so different about Spielberg's movie and Independence Day or the day after tomorrow or even Pearl Harbour. Only Tom Cruise is in it. Spielberg fails to get the best from his actors and thats what a director shouldn't do. Dakota Fanning...
- 21.March.2009
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- by: gauravarora77
- gauravarora77 rated this movie4/10Disappointing
What is so different about Spielberg's movie and Independence Day or the day after tomorrow or even Pearl Harbour. Only Tom Cruise is in it. Spielberg fails to get the best from his actors and thats what a director shouldn't do. Dakota Fanning provides the vocal cords other than the aliens and the jarring music.Don't waste your time seeing this. Special effects were good. Two stars for that only
- 21.March.2009
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- by: gauravarora77
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Multiple story lines with no emphasis on any one of them (how long did we spend in that damn basement with Tim Robbins?). Way too much on the Tom Cruise character and all his problems. The fact that aliens popped up from the Earth (which was a cool...
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sladobruk
- sladobruk rated this movie2/10Bad
Multiple story lines with no emphasis on any one of them (how long did we spend in that damn basement with Tim Robbins?). Way too much on the Tom Cruise character and all his problems. The fact that aliens popped up from the Earth (which was a cool idea) and began exterminating the entire human race seemed to merely be a back plot. This was a terrible interpretation of the story, I'm glad I didn't waste money on it at the theatre.
- 20.March.2009
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- by: sladobruk
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This was your typical big budget special effect blow everything up, character development was sub par, what happened to the brother, and don't get me started on the ending, all I can say is it was WEAK. Not good, but if you have nothing better to do...
- 19.March.2009
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- by: Crazyloc
- Crazyloc rated this movie6/10Okay
This was your typical big budget special effect blow everything up, character development was sub par, what happened to the brother, and don't get me started on the ending, all I can say is it was WEAK. Not good, but if you have nothing better to do with close to 3 hours and like big budget effects then put this in your queue...but dont expect too much if you are looking for a movie with deep characters and plot
- 19.March.2009
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- by: Crazyloc
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not as good as it could be
Especially for Steven Spielberg, this is a real disappointment. Decent action, poor plot and acting.
- 21.August.2008
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- by: rotem.nevgaunker
- rotem.nevgaunker rated this movie3/10Poor
not as good as it could be
Especially for Steven Spielberg, this is a real disappointment. Decent action, poor plot and acting.
- 21.August.2008
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- by: rotem.nevgaunker
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