This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Ruby Buzz
by Daniel Berger.
Original Post: War of the Worlds - SPOILERS
Feed Title: Testing 1,2,3...
Feed URL: http://djberg96.livejournal.com/data/rss
Feed Description: A blog on Ruby and other stuff.
Let me be the first critic to give this movie a thumbs down. Yes, the special effects are great. Yes, it has good suspense at times. That's what Spielberg knows. The movie suffers from other problems.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
* People are consistently running towards danger in this movie. * Dakota Fanning's character screams so much in this movie I wanted to strangle her before the movie was over. * The son's behavior is contrived, and his survival is preposterous. * The Tim Robbins character feels very contrived, and out of place.
When I say contrived, I mean that Spielberg tries too hard to setup certain dramatic situations, i.e. Tom Cruise having to let his son go, and later having to deal with the Tim Robbins character. It all felt very artificial.
This movie feels like two movies slapped together. The first is the special effects and suspense masterpiece. You know, the stuff Spielberg knows. The second is a bad attempt to imitate M. Night Shyamalan's style, where he focuses on individuals rather than the large. If you look at Spielberg's movie history, it doesn't take long to realize that he's generally never been one to do deep character development, so when he tries here, he's trying way too hard.
I'm also not convinced that Tom Cruise was the best selection for the main role. He does a decent, but not great, job, and there are times when I just didn't find him very convincing.
Previous Topic
