Ahoy, squirts! Quint here, back in my hotel room after a whirlwind night in New York City. I've put up my spiffy clothes (including the first shirt I ever paid more than $20 for) and am ready to write up my opinion of Steven Spielberg's WAR OF THE WORLDS. I got to attend the NY premiere this very night and am here to tell you about the flick. I'm not going to delve very deeply into spoilers, but there may be some stuff below that you don't want to know if you want to keep spoiler-free for the film.
I had been worried about WAR OF THE WORLDS. Nothing I saw onset gave me a hint at which way the movie was going. I had friends who were on the inside that told me David Koepp's script was fantastic and I have a ton of faith in Spielberg, so I was hoping for the best. Then the reviews started coming in saying that the movie was great up until you meet Tim Robbin's character, then it just runs out of steam and loses its focus. Not all the reviews said that, but more than one felt that was a problem.
So, I was hoping they were wrong going into the screening, but also thinking that it was a possibility. Spielberg's done uneven stuff before. So, what's the verdict?
In short, Spielberg knocked it out of the park.
I'm so glad he kept the key imagery out of the marketing. It was so nice to see a big summer event film on the big screen and not feel like I'm just waiting for the bits in-between the sequences from the trailer and other marketing.
I was worried a little about Tom Cruise in the film. Not because of all this bullshit that has been going on in the last couple of months, but the worry was that Cruise playing the lead would make his character an action hero, not an average person. However, Cruise's character is very real and he plays it very real. Flawed, even. Matter of fact, Ray is kind of an asshole. He doesn't know how to be a father, so when he takes his two kids (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) from his ex and her husband for the weekend it comes off very uncomfortable.
His ex doesn't trust him, his kids treat him like a stranger and every move he makes to share some quality time is forced. All this is shown in about 10 minutes of the film. It's not long before the shit goes down and once it starts it doesn't stop.
I'm going to say right here and now that the sequence where the first tripod is revealed is one of the best directed, paced, shot and performed sequences ever put to film. Pretty high praise, I know, but it's it true. From the moment Tom Cruise arrives at the spot where all the lightning was striking to the moment he walks back through his door... classic scene. The tripods are massive, hardcore and vicious. Everything we wanted them to be.
Spielberg shot them throughout the whole movie with a sense of mystery and awe. There's a running theme of mirrors and reflections in the film that is used to great effect. Don't get me wrong... there is still a ton of spectacle and some epic shots, but there's a freshness to the film that I haven't felt from Spielberg in a long time. I loved CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and THE TERMINAL mostly for the character work done by the actors (Hanks in both and Walken in CATCH ME) however I didn't get a sense of them as Spielberg movies.
WAR OF THE WORLDS is a Steven Spielberg movie. You feel it in every shot, every performance and every sound. Even before the invasion starts, the camerawork is sharp and creative, keeping an energy to the film, a momentum that builds to the arrival of the aliens. One of the reasons I love JAWS is his creativity with the editing, the camera work and the angles he chose. His recent films haven't looked dull, but this is the first time since SAVING PRIVATE RYAN that I could almost see Spielberg's face on the screen, he's put that much of himself into the film.
The film is rated PG-13 and it's a hard PG-13. Some swearing at the beginning... no big deal... But when the Tripods start blasting people... when you see how they create the red weed... Good God, it was awesome. And that's not taking into account the intensity. During the scene I was talking about earlier, the reveal of the first Tripod... I was wondering why the audience was so quiet until I looked down my row and literally every single person in my row (middle aged men, teenage girls, etc) was staring at the screen, mouths hanging open. They were awed. I haven't seen a film do that in a while.
Without ruining the surprise, I will say that Spielberg came up with a great way to show the Tripods taking out dozens upon dozens of people... a great visual that signals it has happened even if we don't see it (and we do see a lot of people get taken out, so don't think they use this as a way to not deliver the goods).
The effects are stunning, of course. ILM can be iffy these days, depending on the project, but whenever they're working under Spielberg they always seem to be at the top of their game and WAR OF THE WORLDS is no exception. The Tripods are massive and awesome, the aliens (yes, you do get to see the aliens) are creepy and oddly built. They move unlike most aliens I've seen put to screen, although there is a bit that reminded me of ET in their big scene, but, again, I'll let you discover the details of that your own self.
And yes, they are aliens, not some alternate dimensional ogres or whatever the hell people thought they were going to be. They managed not to lie in their advertising ("They're already here"), but still kept them aliens from another planet. I will say no more.
When I was onset, Spielberg told me he was keeping the film almost solely from the perspective of the family we're following and he wasn't lying. You stick with Ray Ferrier and his kids through it all. As their story weaves in and out of the line of fire we see glimpses of how the rest of the world is affected and we learn a little about the aliens in their encounters with other survivors. The military is seen only briefly, only as Ray and his family come into contact with them, so you don't have big scenes of jets shooting at Tripods until Ray and his family are there. This decision is a brilliant way to exclude any similarity between Spielberg's alien invasion film and Emmerich's. WAR OF THE WORLDS is unique, but still thrilling which is why I anticipate this to be a big hit. The draw will be Spielberg and Cruise, but what'll keep people coming back is how they made the flick.
The acting is top notch all across the board. Cruise hits every beat just right and I'm hoping all this tabloid bullshit that's been surrounding him lately will be forgotten about once the film begins. I know it all slipped my mind and Cruise and Holmes were in the theater with me, supposedly. I never saw them once, but I'm told they were there.
Dakota Fanning proves again that she is deserving of my shocked terror every time I see her on screen or off. She's extremely good in the film, too good. She's like a midget or a realistic android... She's just not right. Her talent, her maturity... all belong to someone much older than she. People keep comparing her to Jodie Foster and I don't disagree.
Tim Robbins is cool in the movie, playing a kookie guy that helps Cruise and his family out at an opportune moment. He has a terrific scene with Cruise, played mostly silent with facial expressions and hand gestures... another highlight moment of the film.
I didn't feel the movie lose focus or become something it shouldn't have been from this point, like I was worried I was. I think it's a bit of a shock to some people because this is the first time the movie lets you take a breath, the first time it slows down at all. I think it's a much needed moment, especially when you see what happens just previous to it. But the breather doesn't last very long...
Justin Chatwin plays Cruise's son. Like his dad, he's a bit of an asshole at first, but the compassion he has for his sister (Fanning) goes a long way to making him sympathetic for the audience. Chatwin does a solid job with the character. He's comfortable in front of the camera and it's a good thing, too, because this is probably the least likable character in the film and if Chatwin hadn't been up to snuff he could have really made the character a bore. I hear he's great in CHUMSCRUBBER. He's definitely one to keep an eye on.
Morgan Freeman's opening and closing narration is perfect. Freeman doing Welles reading Wells. Freeman's the man.
John Williams' score is nice, but non-intrusive. Lots of horns and drums... a little James Horner-y. I would have loved an instantly recognizable theme for the titles, but I can't complain. His music fit the film like a glove, but wasn't too showy.
I don't know if I have anything else to say... I know the ending (**SLIGHT SPOILERS HERE**) has been worried about, but I thought it was a nice cap to the film. The cynics will no doubt be bitching about it being too happy and I thought I was going to feel that way, too, but when the ending came it didn't feel out of place or unearned.(**END SLIGHT SPOILERS**)
So, rejoice! This summer is still running strong. We have a great BATMAN movie in theaters already, a sweet Romero zombie movie opening this weekend and a great Spielberg sci-fi blockbuster opening next week. If Spielberg can bring this level of effortless creativity to INDIANA JONES 4, then I say bring on INDIANA JONES 4!
I'm tired... it's been a helluva long day... I saw a movie in the same room as Hulk Hogan, Bruce Willis, Bill O'Reilly (believe it or not), Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon (how that couple could have been in the same room as O'Reilly and not start a fist-fight is a minor miracle), Paul Schrader, Peter Bogdanovich, Howard Stern, Ice T and John Singleton and the main cast and crew of WOTW to name a few... that's so weird... and I got to tell Tim Robbins that I loved him in HOWARD THE DUCK (no lie) and Kate Capshaw that I am one of the few people that can honestly and with total sincerity tell her that I love TEMPLE OF DOOM. I also got to geek out in front of Dennis Murren for a few minutes. As you can see, it's been a wild ride and I'm happy to share it with you folks.
I have a day of enjoying the city in front of me tomorrow... so I better get to bed before I sleep the whole day away. I've got some cool shit on the horizon, squirts, including a set visit to a sci-fi/horror flick called ALTERED, my time up north on the set of MASTERS OF HORROR as well as those KONG reports to finish up, not to mention Comic-Con happening in about 3 weeks. Busy busy busy. 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
