Virtue Magazine

This is one of the greatest sentences in all of science fiction. It has been described as a “touchstone” of science fiction literature, something “… not only characteristic but sublime, inspiring awe and terror.”1 It is a shame that it had to be hacked apart somewhat for the opening scene of this, the newest adaptation of H. G. Wells’ masterpiece. But although set in modern times (the beginning paragraph was obviously altered from “the last years of the nineteenth century” to “the early years of the twenty-first century”), this film— directed by Steven Spielberg— does follow (slightly) more truly to the original story than did George Pal’s 1953 version. In this aspect— especially to someone like myself, who desires accuracy and authenticity in such films— it is welcome; though don’t get your hopes up too much, for it is thick with “creative liberties”.

However, this is merely the complaining of a crabby, disillusioned young lover of H. G. Wells’ works; let us discuss the film itself.

The Film Itself

The movie begins with mankind’s “infinite complacency, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter.” Suddenly this empire is overturned by the emergence of giant metallic fighting-machines all over the world that proceed to destroy everything in sight. Tom Cruise, in the part of divorced father Ray Ferrier, is caught up in this storm (along with his two rather spoilt children who are visiting him) when one of these contraptions appears in their city and starts wrecking up the real estate. From then on it’s a lost cause, from humankind’s standpoint. The red weed (abandoned by George Pal but reinstated here) begins to take over the landscape, turning everything to a suitably Martian hue; the indestructible machines work their destructive destruction; and the atmosphere is generally one of panic. (Please note: while I do stubbornly stick to the descriptive word “Martian” throughout this article because that is what they are in the book, nowhere in the movie do they specify whereabouts the invaders are from.)

For those of you who have become attached to the 50-some year old version, take heart: there are one or two little things that you will find pleasantly familiar. The farmhouse scene still has that wonderfully suspenseful part where the roving camera-ended tentacle investigates the contents of the room (though the suspense factor has been pushed up a couple of notches); and the death of the Martian who is attempting to creep out of his fighting-machine is quite obviously not coincidental in its similarity— even down to its hand (complete with the now well known three fingers and thumb with frog-like pads) advancing fitfully out of the hatchway.

For those of you who are looking for an authentic H. G. Wellsian experience, you will be disappointed but not much surprised. The red weed, as I said above, is intact; the Heat-Ray, the general story-line, and the long vigil in the house (though with a farmer— not unintentionally named Ogilvy) have been preserved. Other than these you will be hard pressed to find anything in this film that came out of the mind of Herbert George. One thing that I was surprised to hear that they did keep from the book is in the end of the film (as in the end of the 1953 version), from the last chapter of the story: the words “God, in his wisdom”. They even discarded most of the immediately contradictory evolutionary rot that follows.

So much for the summary. Now, should you go see this film?

Should You Go See This Film?

First of all, it is quite well made. The special effects are astonishing, and the acting quite good, though merely “sufficient” according to my mom, who has no faith in Mr. Cruise’s abilities as an actor. The “tripods” of the Martians are extraordinarily realistic, a sort of cross between those on the cover of the 1988 Bantam edition and those on the 1986 Signet Classic edition. (The Martians themselves, while Hollywood-ishly hideous and none too congenial of countenance are— please excuse another brief lapse into negativity— totally wrong: no one has ever gotten them right.) The score, composed by the great John Williams himself, always inspires the proper mood— usually fear; though afterwards one forgets all about the music, unlike that which he has written for other films.

As far as problems with the movie: the three would be the bad language, the violence, and the intensity of some scenes: there is a sort of volley of foul language near the beginning, tapering off sharply from there; the disintegration of the general populace by use of the Heat-Ray is somewhat disturbing, there is a spot of fisticuffs, and there is other violence, most of it implied; and there are some scenes that are quite intense— particularly those dealing with the Martians invading the farmhouse.

So if you want to see it because Tom Cruise is in it, by all means go (he is most definitely in it). If you want to see it because you are interested to see how close it is to the book… well… it is better than George Pal’s, though that isn’t saying much. If you want to see it because you want to hear John Williams’ music, don’t bother. If you want to see it because you like seeing buildings and semis and cars and other things get smashed up, then go. Or if it just is something that you are interested in watching because it sounds… interesting, and it seems that you would enjoy it, then go.

But if you are averse to strong language, or a deal of violence, or suspenseful scenes, and none of the above considerations weighs very heavily in your mind, then you probably shouldn’t go. It is most definitely not a movie for young children, and deserves its rating of PG-13.

—Casey Coolidge

1. James Gunn, Introduction to The War of the Worlds, Aerie Books Ltd., © 1986