Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds- Synopsis
War of the Worlds is about a dead-beat dad who needs something as horrific as an alien invasion to finally assume the responsibilities of fatherhood. By watching the events occur through the eyes of Ray Ferrier [Tom Cruise], we discover that even the worst fathers love their kids and will do anything to protect them.
What started as an extremely cool looking lightning storm behind Ray's house later developed into the beginning of a massive alien invasion, or should I say human extermination, on planet Earth. Considering no weapons can stop what seems to be technology far more advanced then our own, Ray is forced to go on his own to protect his children from the alien slaughter.
War of the Worlds- Movie Review
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise are one of the
rare Hollywood pairs that guarantee great movies each time they meet. The
duo first surprised us with the film Minority Report, which offered
a story of a unique future where murder and crime could be stopped. Teaming
up again, Spielberg and Cruise have created a film so cool, so intense,
and so hold - on - to - your - seat, that it would be hard to imagine any
film outdoing War of the Worlds this summer.
Aliens have come to exterminate humans, and feed their red weed.
That said, I want to point out how amazing the special effects are in War
of the Worlds. Watching machine tripods cruise through city streets
with destructive mechanical rhythm was something to see, and there isn't
a second where you could call Spielberg on overuse of cheap CGI [a problem
in some of today's films]. While the realism to the film did add a good
portion to the suspense, it was the characters themselves who drove the
film and kept us tied to our seats.
One nice thing about Spielberg, and Cruise for that matter, is that he knows
how to bring any story back to the individual. Let me start by saying that
the plot for War of the Worlds is thin. The story that carries the
film follows a lets - keep - running - from - the - aliens' formula, which
usually wouldn't bode well in your standard movie. The only way Spielberg
is able to carry a plot such as this is through two channels. The first
is the intense special effects and action sequences, which are nothing short
of top-notch. The second driving element is the characters played by Tom
Cruise, Dakota Fanning, and Justin Chatwin. These three make up the essential
family set that we follow throughout War of the Worlds as they continuously
attempt to avoid extermination.
Tom Cruise proves once again that he is a terrific actor and has no problem
adjusting to any character. Playing the role of dead-beat dad, we follow
Cruise's character as his attachment, and love, for his children is continuously
tested. Some of the greatest scenes come from when Cruise's character breaks
down into shaking and in tears after highly intense and stressful situations.
There is a scene where the family almost gets lynched by a mob of people
for their vehicle; something that not only emotional strains the characters
but the moviegoers as well..
The actors play on their characters emotional distress beautifully.
One of the coolest aspects of the film is that it does not waste any time
to get the story rolling and the alien invasion kicking [within fifteen
minutes the aliens strike], having one of the quickest starts I have seen
in films of late. The only problem with War of the Worlds is that
it ends just as quickly, leaving the final ten minutes to be the weakest
part of the entire film. It seemed that after all the intense situations
thrown at us through the viewing of War of the Worlds, Spielberg
wanted to end the film softly. Therefore, you begin to feel slightly awkward
by the end of the showing as everything begins to come apart. I hate knowing
when an end is coming, and with the final few segments in War of the
Worlds hurried through, the film ended on a slight downhill. However,
right before I got disappointed about the change of pace I remembered the
first hour and forty minutes of the movie and left the theatre thinking
what an amazing movie I had just watched.
Definitely count me in for a second viewing of War of the Worlds in theatres.
Score:  
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