into one thrilling, bone-chilling film that is hands-down the best of
the summer. The picture is like an extended trip down the last four
years of history, complete with far-off villains, wanton destruction,
and a lack of clear political goals.
Unlike the benign aliens of "Close Encounters" and "E.T.," the
"tripods" of "War of the Worlds" have no purpose but total and
complete annihilation. If there's a better metaphor for modern
terrorism, I can't find it. They aren't willing to negotiate, they didn't
come for a truce, they aren't after our natural resources, and they
don't think twice before killing. (Sound familiar?) They're also the
ultimate sleeper cells: In one of the pic's most thought-provoking
plot elements, it becomes clear that the aliens had been planning
their invasion for hundreds, perhaps millions of years. Pods had
evidently been planted deep in the ground some time ago, and
only now are the extra-terrestrial pilots descending from space to
man them and wreak havoc on the planet.
But what's utterly disturbing about the pic aside from the alien
contingent is the lightning-fast breakdown of society. In about six
hours, suburban New Jersey goes from, well, suburban New Jersey
into an every-man-for-himself frenzy in which it is literally fatal to
merely trust the word of your fellow neighbor. A mob attacks Cruise
and the kids to steal their car, and before you know it guns are
drawn and a riot ensues. The protagonists' scrambling from house
to house, along deserted roads, and through demolished towns
seems to turn the clock back on civilization a few hundred critical
years.
And unlike the President's recent press conference, Spielberg
manages to slip in many appropriate 9/11 references. Survivors
fleeing across bridges on foot, bulletin boards with missing person
postings, city crowds trampling each other in a mad rush to avoid
death -- the correlation was mighty clear. Hell, even Dakota
Fanning repeatedly asks Tom Cruise, "Is it the terrorists?"
America's #1 enemy has apparently given the characters a primer in
how to react to mindless destruction.
And for once, what makes a movie so imminently terrifying is its
lack of explanation. It is never delineated why the visitors'
destruction is so total, why exactly they chose this specific time to
attack, or why they spray the countryside with redigested human
guts. That we will never have access to their plans is all the more
unnerving.
A minor caveat is the usual Spielberg pap about fathers and sons
reconnecting that, fortunately, doesn't take too much screen time
away from the aliens. And without giving away anything specific, the
pic's coda is slightly more upbeat than the rest of the storyline
would have you believe. Nonetheless, "War of the Worlds" is terrific
picture worthy of discussion and analysis that you just don't expect
from the average summer popcorn flick. Then again, when has
Steven Spielberg delivered the average summer popcorn flick?
