Plot: What’s it about?
The second collaboration between Director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Cruise was with “War of the Worlds.” When the movie first came out in July, Cruise�s personal life wasn�t so much in question as it is these days. Maybe the guy is having a mid-life crisis or something or maybe the Scientology has finally gotten the best of him. Regardless, as a critic the personal life of an actor shouldn�t have any pertinent role in my review of this DVD � yet somehow it does. As most anyone knows, the story behind this movie goes way back to the radio broadcast (hoax) by the great Orson Wells, in which he had people convinced that aliens had actually landed on Earth and were destroying it as he spoke. A prank, to be sure but it shows how gullible humans really are. The original movie was made in 1953 and this is a much more updated version, though the premise is just about the same.
Cruise plays blue-collar worker Ray Ferrier who has his two children for the weekend. The only trouble is that some electromagnetic storms are being reported around the globe and it�s not long before one shows up in New York City. Things go from normal to chaotic in a matter of minutes when Ray and his children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin) somehow escape the destruction of the city. On the way to Boston, the trio stops for some R and R but it�s not too long after that the aliens show up there as well. As we learn, the �aliens� have been watching Earth for quite some time and when the time is right, the electromagnetic storms provide the invaders with a method to get in their ships. Is mankind doomed or will Ray and his family save the day?
�War of the Worlds� was good for the first 2/3, but the real downfall is the film�s third act in which things are resolved way too quickly. I don�t think I�m alone here in wanting the movie to be about 30 minutes longer to give us some reason as to what was happening. Spielberg hasn�t lost his touch. The movie had some generally scary scenes and he managed to scare the hell out of me a dozen years ago with �Jurassic Park� as well. Love it or hate it �War of the Worlds� was one of the big money-makers of 2005 and is one of those movies you�ll just �have to see�. Regardless of how it ended, plausible or not, I felt generally intrigued by the concept and will think twice about what might be lying under the Earth�s surface.
Video: How does it look?
Unlike Spielberg�s �Minority Report� which was his return to scope (2.35:1), �War of the Worlds� is presented in a much more conventional 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. The picture is well above average for the most part, but there seems to be some intentional grain in a majority of the scenes, perhaps to give it a grittier look and feel. I have no doubt that this was done on purpose and not a fault of the transfer. There are only a few daytime scenes, which all look good and the rest of the film has a very muted �Saving Private Ryan� look to it. On the whole, nothing terribly wrong with it except for some softness on some scenes.
Audio: How does it sound?
One thing that �War of the Worlds� does excel at is the sound. I listened to the DTS soundtrack and on more than one occasion had to turn it down. There are some subtle effects that come through the surrounds, but the major effects are in the subwoofer channel. I don�t think I�ve had my room shake like that in a while. There�s nothing to over the top about how this sounds, as we�ve never had alien invaders before it�s kind of hard to replicate what we think that sound might be like, ya know? The disc also includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that sounds nearly as good as the DTS. Suffice it to say the disc gets an �A� in this department.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This single disc set only includes a fluffy featurette, but if it�s supplements you�re after then there is also a Limited Edition 2 Disc Set out there. It�s double the cost, but it contains a lot more supplements. However if you just like the movie with some good soundtracks, this is the one to get.
