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Originally Posted by DanielBCR
Spoiler alert!
I was a little bothered how the family was completely unharmed at the end. The neighborhood was perfect, the people looked perfect, everything. Didn't make much sense to me.
And yes, that movie was terrifying. It's the scariest I've seen.
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I saw it again last night.
The neighborhood showed signs of the invasion, but hadn't been attacked. There were inoperable cars everywhere and debris in the streets, suggesting that here, like in New Jersey and elsewhere, people fled for their lives.
There's a brief overview of Boston near the end, one of few such shots in the whole film, that goes a long way toward explaining what many are criticizing as the most improbable part of the movie -- its ending. In that overview, it's evident that much of Boston remains and their are no less than six Tripods that have fallen. To me, that suggests that Boston was only invaded recently and that the Tripods fell victim to disease shortly thereafter. There is ample evidence throughout the film that dispels any notion of an Independence Day-like coordinated attack, so I have no trouble believing that Boston was attacked later than New York. That said, Ray and Rachel survived in a basement for a week or more, so why is it unlikely that his ex-wife, her boyfriend and parents would survive in their home? The Tripods weren't seeking extermination of our species as Ogilvy suggests, but were harvesting us for our blood, so perhaps the Tripods
allowed some people to live.
Robbie's survival seems equally improbably, but in the reality of the film, anyone's survival is improbable. Why is it any less likely for Robbie to make it to Boston than it is for Ray and Rachel? It is evident throughout that Robbie isn't in need of Ray's protection and, in fact, is his equal. On the hill, when Ray lets Robbie go, he acknowledges that.
I don't know -- it worked for me. Twice. Maybe I'm easy to fool.