War of the Worlds (2005)

War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction action film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on the 1898 novel by H. G. Wells and jointly produced and released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures. It stars Tom Cruise with Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins in supporting roles, with narration by Morgan Freeman.

Plot
Dockworker Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) struggles to build a positive relationship with his two children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin). When his ex-wife, Mary Ann (Miranda Otto), drops them off at Ferrier's house, it seems as though it will be just another tension-filled weekend. However, when electromagnetic pulses of lightning strike the area, the strange event turns out to be the beginning of an alien invasion, and Ferrier must now protect his children as they seek refuge.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Awesome directing by Steven Spielberg, which still retains the charm of his films as well.
 * 2) The Martians are still pretty good and menacing villains as they were in 1953.
 * 3) The Martian designs (both the Tripods and the Martians themselves) are pretty good.
 * 4) The acting performances are decently acted, namely Tom Cruise (Ray) and Dakota Fanning (Rachel).
 * 5) John Williams delivers an amazing score like he always does.
 * Ray, Rachel and Robbie are likable and entertaining main characters for the most part.
 * 1) The Tripod's first appearance out of the ground and the ensuing destruction it brings is almost always the scene that people bring up when it comes to this film.
 * 2) Two of the original cast of the 1953 movie, Ann Robinson and Gene Barry, who played Grandmother and Grandfather, are involved in this movie.
 * 3) The story, while not as well written as the original, is still pretty decent and really captures a real sense of both dread and hope.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) There are a few effects shots that aren't that good like the Martian probe.
 * 2) The ending is considered to be one of the worst in film history ever, as all of a sudden, the aliens are defeated with no explanation whatsoever, through the Narrator (voiced by Morgan Freeman) does explains. Even Spielberg himself said that the ending makes no sense. It may have been in the book, but that doesn't make it much better.
 * 3) Plot Holes:
 * 4) *How did Robbie survived the giant explosion at the woods and how did he managed to get back with his mom?
 * 5) *How did the aliens were defeated? Yes, we saw one of the tripods being taken down but still.

Reception
War of the Worlds received generally positive reviews, with many praising the performances (particularly those of Cruise and Fanning) and Spielberg's direction, screenplay, action sequences and visual effects, though the ending was criticized. On Rotten Tomatoes, War of the Worlds holds a 75% approval rating based on 264 reviews with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Steven Spielberg's adaptation of War of the Worlds delivers on the thrill and paranoia of H.G. Wells' classic novel while impressively updating the action and effects for modern audiences.". Review aggregator website Metacritic gave the film an average score of 73 out of 100 based on 40 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

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