So today we have a guest review by the delightful Mr Chris King...
While most reviews
tend to focus on new things and how fun – or terribly – they are, I like to
think of the turn of the 20th century, a time I would have fit in with perfectly
(or so I have been frequently told). The movies (2005 and 1953) of The War of the Worlds just do not do any
justice to the original story of world invasion, by H. G. Wells, a master who
defined science-fiction far more than I think Asimov ever did. The Invisible Man and The Time Machine were both
genre-defining and The War of the Worlds
is no different; it had to be called a ‘scientific-romance’
when it was first published.
So, the movies are
bad. The 2005 version has pre-earthed tripods emerge, shoot people (but not
their clothes, so that the first time I saw it – and I have to say I did not
watch much of it – I thought that the tripods turned people into clothes). This
causes Tom Cruise to go into an angst spiral that lasts most of the movie (so I
am told). It causes him to shout at his children and throw toast at windows
while his children (whom he is estranged from, gasp, the drama!) explain how
sticking your fingers in your ears and saying the name of the yellow Tellytubby
repeatedly helps deal with the destruction of the world (or you know, America –
I think it was pandering to an American audience’s perception of ‘the world’).
So, that’s that one over with.