Let’s begin with a little bit of history. H.G. Wells published The War of the Worlds in 1898, to a public that hadn’t yet experienced the horrors of World War I and had barely come to terms with Charles Darwin’s revelations in The Origin of the Species 40 years previously. Natural selection and the idea that God might not exist were new concepts. Suddenly the Victorians were forced into questioning whether they were alone in their newly discovered universe.
“Yet so vain is man, and so blinded by his vanity, that no writer expressed any idea that intelligent life might have developed there far, or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level,” wrote Wells.
Steven Spielberg wanted to make a scary sci-fi blockbuster for a change - no cuddly ET hiding in the closet or space ships that sound like the ice cream van this time around - but the Tripods, although you wouldn’t want to meet one down a dark alley, aren’t as scary as they should be because the concept of alien invasion is all too familiar.
The disaster is played out through the eyes of Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), an average Joe who needs a refresher course on parenting skills, and his two children Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and Rachel (Dakota Fanning).
He’s got the kids for the weekend when the aliens gatecrash the party. A freak lightning storm gets the town folk staring up into the sky with bewildered looks, and when the ground literally breaks in two and gives birth to a three-legged monster that zaps everyone in its wake – well, you can imagine the scenes because you’ve already seen them in other films.
If a Tripod doesn’t get you, an aeroplane crashing from the sky will; or a speeding train consumed in flames; or worse still, the hordes of terrified people willing to kill you for your car. A scene when everyone attempts to board a doomed ferry is reminiscent of Titanic and an annoying Sophie’s Choice scenario emerges when Ray is forced to save one child over another.
Spielberg has remained faithful to the original Tripod design, but they look dated in comparison to the film’s other special effects, which are quite impressive. Another gripe is his insistence on sentimental endings - which to my mind is a recurring blot on an otherwise exemplary copybook of films - and he makes no exception to the rule this time around.
Despite my criticisms it would be unfair to say that War of the Worlds isn’t enjoyable – it is. It’s extremely well-made, Cruise is more than adequate and Tim Robbins gives a superb performance as a deranged survivor.
It tackles how far we’re willing to go in order to protect our children when under threat. And, although so much of the film is familiar, we can’t predict that they’ll all survive. Plus, what the Tripods’ are capable of once they capture their prey is truly horrifying. However, The War of the Worlds is not the major movie event it’s been pitched to be.
The original novel might have been Wells’ wake up call to Britain’s rabid imperialism, but he failed to instil in us the impetus to change and its central themes remain wholly relevant today.
But Steven Spielberg has forgotten that Wells’ story gave birth to the science fiction genre and has been replicated a million times since with more sinister, powerful and uglier predators.
When Orson Welles broadcast the book as a radio play in 1938, mass panic broke out because millions of Americans believed that aliens really were taking over the Earth. Back then the human race was as green as the monsters they feared – today we’d probably just think it was Chris Morris or Dennis Pennis up to their old tricks.
War of the Worlds is released in the UK on 20 June 2005
War of the Worlds: Brand New Trailer
Delve into the Speilberg magic by buying the DVD box set of the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Buy it online and save some money to put towards the original book of The War of the Worlds and the classic, remastered double album of Jeff Wayne's musical version of the Worlds The War of the Worlds.