War of the Worlds [Spoilers]

[Madison]

Didn't anyone else catch this yet? I'd been looking forward to it for months and went immediately after work this afternoon.

I can't say that it was great; not even good. It feels like using that sort of adjective to describe the horror and terror I felt while watching this movie is absurd. Without a doubt, War of the Worlds is the scariest movie I've ever seen.

I've read a handful of comments elsewhere on the 'net from people that were less moved by the movie. Unusually, I can't fathom how they were not absolutely terrified by some of the imagery and implications in this movie.

[MrToast]

Well, what if you saw it and didn't know it was fake? IIRC, that's what a whole bunch of the world thought when The War of the Worlds originally aired over the radio. Widespread panic in lots of places. People finally caught on once reports came in from places like NYC and London saying "Nope, no UFOs here..."

Dave

[Madison]

I've heard Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaption of War of the Worlds and can understand why, in its time, it was genuinely frightening. It purported to be a live account of events taking place in New Jersey and, aside from a brief announcement at the beginning indicating all that followed was fiction, there was no remitting on its premise throughout.

Knowing that this movie is fiction before ever setting foot in the theater, it was still horrifying. Now, three hours later, it's still very unsettling.

[Adam Y.]

Did they actually keep the original ending that was in the story? It would be hysterical to see all that carnage and then have the aliens die from a common cold. Muahahhah....

[Denman]

yes but its a bit short the ending bit imho
Very good film
(saw it yesterday, when it was released )

[Daniel Brim]

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.

[Freddy Schurr]

can anyone tell me what happen in the movie because i don't have time to see it and i want to know what happens

[jpsaul7usa]

*spoilers, sorta*

I really didn't think it was that scary. Signs brought out the xenophobe in me for weeks, but I think I had a pretty good idea of what to expect going into War of the Worlds and that's what I got. I hate basement scenes though, and it seemed like they were in a basement for half the movie. Also, I didn't think the ending was all that weak; it seemed about as plausible and as fast-paced as the rest of the movie. If anything I think the large battle between the army and the aliens was the weakest point. It really broke the sense of helplessness that was the film had going for it. After that scene the movie was over for me. I think I just went in with impossible expectations like I always do for sci-fi films. Now if they had fought that big battle in a basement, that would have been creepy...

[Madison]

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.

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.

[SizzelChest330]

I saw it last night...
I really enjoyed it!

I thought the Lightning was awesome
Tripods coming out of the ground
Their weapons were awesome
I liked the basement part
and a bunch of others

I still didn't get some things though

Planting Blood vessels? and Beaming humans down?
Why birds helped stop the tripods?
And if they were planning this for a million years
Wouldn't they have Completely different machinery?

But overall the effects and movie was Awesome

[Corey Balint]

Originally Posted by SizzelChest330

Why birds helped stop the tripods?

I saw it twice on the first day, yah i was bored. I must say its a great movie, one of the best ive seen in a while. There just seems to be no closure at the end though, its just bleh.

And the birds were just showing that their shields were down and able to be attacked.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Corey Balint

I saw it twice on the first day, yah i was bored. I must say its a great movie, one of the best ive seen in a while. There just seems to be no closure at the end though, its just bleh.

And the birds were just showing that their shields were down and able to be attacked.

The birds fly toward the Tripods at Athens, NY and can't get as close. When Ray sees them land on them at Boston, he knows the shields are down.

[sanddrag]

Just saw it. While it was an edge of your seat type of movie (and it made me feel like it was really hot in that theatre) I wouldn't say it was terrifying. The put a lot into the sound effects. The movie would be nothing without them.

Overall, I thought it was just so so. The effects were good, but the story I thought was lacking. For pretty much the whole movie, it is just a guy and a little girl running from laser beams and stuff like that. There wasn't a whole lot of dialog either. Mostly just sounds of stuff blowing up, falling over, etc. And then every now and then a loud too loud imho fog horn blast type sound every time one of those darned things got ready to strike.

The end was wrapped up way to fast. I mean, one minute these things are on their way to destroying mankind (and everything mankind has built) and are unstoppable the next they are being brought down by a canon sitting on a soldiers shoulder? And the whole reason is some microbes or something like that?

That just doesn't do it for me. I know the makers of the film didn't write the story, but I thought there would be more to it. I'd call it a good exhibition of special effects capabilities, nothing more.

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Didn't anyone else catch this yet? I'd been looking forward to it for months and went immediately after work this afternoon.

I can't say that it was great; not even good. It feels like using that sort of adjective to describe the horror and terror I felt while watching this movie is absurd. Without a doubt, War of the Worlds is the scariest movie I've ever seen.

I've read a handful of comments elsewhere on the 'net from people that were less moved by the movie. Unusually, I can't fathom how they were not absolutely terrified by some of the imagery and implications in this movie.

**SPOILER**
I went to see Land of the dead first, so this movie was a comedy[not literally though] to me. Anyways, the story was definitely lacking and they could've added more specific elements to it. The first part of it was interesting with a lot of suspense, but it started to bug me half way through because it was all about staying away from the laser beams and keeping his daughter safe. There was very little about the creatures and about no explanation to how, when or where they formed/came from. As Corey said, the end of the movie was just bleh, cant explain. Overall, I didn't like it - I guess because its different and in a normal movie you'd expect the hero to physically fight against the enemies which was not there a whole lot in this movie and it would include the discovery of new elements and such.

[Ryan Dognaux]

I can see why many people did not enjoy this movie. However, I think those who have read the book, or heard the radio broadcast, or seen the 1953 version of the movie appreciate what Spielberg made (a modern adaptation). I think the only reason it ended like it did was because Spielberg didn't want everyone to run out into the streets and kill themselves. He wanted some kind of catharsis at the end of the movie to bring the mood up a bit more than just "oh the aliens died from diseases the end."

Robbie's survival should have been explained at least in brief detail. The whole entire hillside is engulfed in flames so it would have been cool to have seen how he didn't die there.

The movie was intense but not horrifying. I think there are more horrifying movies to date that are based on actual events.

And yes, that's how the book and movies have all ended. The aliens had no immunity to our everyday diseases and die. So I guess if you're unhappy with that ending, take it up with H.G. Wells.

I'm interested in seeing the Pendragon version of the movie which is supposedly very accurate in comparison to the book and is in the correct historical time frame as well.