Movies - War of the Worlds

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War of the Worlds is a 2005 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells' original novel of the same name. It was directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Josh Friedman and David Koepp and stars Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, and Justin Chatwin. The budget for the film was $132 million (US).

Tagline: They're already here.

Background

This film draws elements not only from the H. G. Wells novel, but also the 1938 radio play and the 1953 film. Hence, to place this film in proper historical context as an adaptation requires some knowledge of all three previous incarnations of Wells' story.

As in the original novel, the narrative is told from the point of view of civilians caught up in the conflict. Whereas the novel portrayed the experience of a solitary British journalist early in the twentieth century, this film is, according to Spielberg, purported to show the war "through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it". It is set in the early twenty-first century, and as in the radio play, begins the action in New Jersey.

Plot

The aliens arrive

Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a crane operator living in Bayonne, New Jersey. He has agreed with his ex-wife, Mary-Anne (Miranda Otto), to watch their kids, teenager Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and preadolescent Rachel (Dakota Fanning), for the weekend while she and her new husband (Tim) go to visit her parents in Boston. While Rachel seems almost too mature for her age, Ray's son repeatedly acts out against him, eventually taking Ray's prized Shelby GT350 out for a joyride.

Meanwhile, in background shots, news networks have been reporting EMPs and freak lightning storms around the world which leave all electronic equipment in the affected areas incapacitated, followed afterward by seismic activity. As Ray is reassuring Rachel about the lightning, 26 bolts of lightning, unaccompanied by thunder, hit the same spot just a few blocks away. His house is then left with no power whatsoever. Ray leaves Rachel alone, and goes to investigate. Before he does, he finds Robbie and tells him to stay with Rachel.

When he arrives, Ray discovers that the lightning has punched a small hole in the middle of an intersection. Suddenly, the ground breaks apart; a massive tripod battle machine rises from beneath the surface and lets out a noise which sounds like a deafening foghorn . The tripod then opens fire with two Heat-Rays on fleeing civilians, vaporizing them on contact: when hit, people seem to turn to ash and disintegrate instantly. Interestingly, their clothes are completely unaffected — soon it is quite literally raining pants and shirts. When buildings are hit by the Heat-Ray, they catch fire and collapse. Within minutes, the entire area around the intersection is flattened and the machine begins to move out. Ray hurries home, shaken and covered with the ashy remains of his neighborhood and neighbors. He gets his kids together, brings food and his revolver, finds and steals a newly-repaired 1994 Plymouth Voyager, which appears to be the only working motor vehicle in the vicinity, and escapes the city just as the tripod reaches their block and blows up the Bayonne Bridge.

Flight from destruction

The family hits the highway, trying to get to away from the assault. They spend a night in the basement of Mary-Anne and Tim's empty house in suburban New Jersey. While they are sleeping, a strange noise wakes them up. The house begins to shake and they run into a room on the side of the basement just as a streak of flame breaks through the windows. Ray goes upstairs to survey the damage, and he discovers that a plane crash has completely destroyed the neighbourhood around the house (and the house itself). He learns from the crew of a TV news mobile unit that countless tripods have appeared near every major city of the world, wreaking havoc everywhere. The news team also shows Ray a video of a lightning strike from one of the mysterious lightning storms. The video shows one alien "riding" the lightning in a capsule to a tripod below, thus explaining how the aliens arrived. The news team also tells Ray that they watched a battle between the tripods and a National Guard unit at the Pine Barrens. All weapons were ineffective as each tripod is equipped with an invisible deflector shield that protects it from damage. When Robbie sees the plane crash, he is infuriated by the sight.

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Movies - War of the Worlds

Background

Plot

The aliens arrive

Flight from destruction

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