War of the Worlds (2005)

As Earth is invaded by alien tripod fighting machines, one family fights for survival.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Josh Friedman (screenplay), David Koepp (screenplay),

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Ray Ferrier
Dakota Fanning	...	Rachel Ferrier
Miranda Otto	...	Mary Ann
Justin Chatwin	...	Robbie
Tim Robbins	...	Harlan Ogilvy
Rick Gonzalez	...	Vincent
Yul Vazquez	...	Julio (as Yul Vázquez)
Lenny Venito	...	Manny the Mechanic
Lisa Ann Walter	...	Bartender
Ann Robinson	...	Grandmother
Gene Barry	...	Grandfather
David Alan Basche	...	Tim
Roz Abrams	...	Herself
Michael Brownlee	...	TV Reporter, Osaka
Camillia Sanes Monet	...	News Producer (as Camillia Sanes)

Storyline

Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. When his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son Robbie and young daughter Rachel for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm suddenly touches down. What follows is the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it in this contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells seminal classic sci-fi thriller.

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Plot Keywords:

Survival | Fight | Storm | Alien | Tripod | 

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Taglines:

They're already here.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Out of the Night

Filming Locations:

Athens, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$132,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,789,496 (France) (22 July 2005)

Gross:

$234,277,056 (USA) (18 November 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Amblin Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Fallujah" was the name that make-up technicians gave to their original new "combat grime" coloration applied to the soldiers. It was inspired by the cover photo of a news magazine showing a close up of a Coalition soldier in Iraq.

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Goofs

When Ray, Rachel and Robbie are driving in the mini van out of town, through the interstate traffic, Ray's steering inputs don't always match the direction of the van as seen out of the van's rear window. At one point, Ray definitely steers to his right and the van obviously moves to the left.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: No one would have believed in the early years of the 21st century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than our own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns, *they* observed and studied, the way a man with a microscope might scrutinize the creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency, men went to and fro about the globe, confident of our empire over this world. Yet across the gulf of space, intellects vast ...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits after the title is shown.

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Connections

Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Tom Brokaw/Dakota Fanning (2005)
Promotional excerpt showed during interview with Dakota Fanning - Ray steals a minivan fleeing from the aliens.

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Soundtracks

"Nobody Move"
by Benjamin Mallon, Michael Ashby, William Sherwin, Eric Joy, Omari Edwards & Glenn Kuchenbeiser
Performed by Capstone
Courtesy of Luke Eddins at Luke Hits

User Reviews

Plot holes like craters, but a scary ride anyway

"War of the Worlds" is Steven Spielberg's third movie in which extraterrestrials visit Earth, but the first in which their intentions are malevolent. It can't be coincidence that the arrival of the ETs is heralded with eerie lights flashing amid lowering clouds, as in "CE3K." From there, the similarity ends--no light show as friendly aliens come in for a closer look. These creatures (presumably Martians, as in the original H.G. Wells novel) aren't interested in making nice; nor is there any ambiguity about their ultimate objective (as there was for much of "CE3K"). They're here to wipe us off the face of the planet, plain and simple, a point we understand before the movie has played for even half an hour, and the giant walking tripods they deploy are remorselessly efficient. So, too, is the movie--at scaring the hell out of us, notwithstanding some gaping plot holes (what's up with that camcorder, anyway?) and a couple of sequences that are too reminiscent of other movies (particularly "Independence Day" and Spielberg's own "Jurassic Park").

That Spielberg uses imagery alluding to 9/11, the Holocaust, and perhaps the siege of London during World War II is, for me, less an exploitation than a reflection of how seriously he intends the audience to take the on screen mayhem. The atmosphere is heavy with threat, and the depiction of a populace numb with shock amid the devastation is chillingly convincing, despite a few moments of Hollywood cheese. We don't have Will Smith delivering snappy one-liners right after millions are massacred by the invading alien forces, a la "ID4." Nor is there much of a rah-rah, let's-kick-some-alien-ass mood as the outmatched Earthlings try fighting back. Even the ostensible protagonist (a low-key, effective Tom Cruise) crumples at one point under the enormity of what's happening.

I'm not really sure what the posters who complained of insufficient action and FX were talking about. Seems to me the tripods were pretty much a constant presence (if not always in the foreground) from about the 15-minute mark onward. And in fact the "war" of the title is waged from the beginning--it's just not on the level of humans vs. aliens combat that some viewers apparently were expecting.