War of the Worlds

We watched War of the Worlds last night, and although nagged by the feeling that we could have gotten a little more out of it if we had seen it on the big screen (or at least on the big plasma screen TV that we don't own), I have to say that it was a very disappointing movie. You're all going to see my geeky side come out here... It was full of inconsistencies and the feeling of "been there, done that". One inconsistency, occurred at the very beginning, was that the aliens who were attacking earth emitted an electromagnetic pulse that stopped everything electronic from working. Yet, five minutes later, there is some interesting cinematography through the lens of a digital camcorder. I have to admit that the cinematography was a cool touch, but c'mon, be a little consistent Steve. Cars aren't working, watches aren't working, how in the world is this dude's camcorder working?

There was also the usual back-story: deadbeat dad alienated from his kids, mom has a new near-perfect life, kids are a little bizarre from their parents splitting, resentment abounds, dad redeems himself in the eyes of the bitter children, everyone lives happily ever after (or at least the people who weren't dessimated by the aliens. There was a pathetic attempt at trying to make the son appear a hero and inspire his dad, but I didn't buy it. I could go on and on about this movie, but the last thing that was really irksome was that the wife's family somehow survived completely unscathed. Their house was intact, they were all clean and well-dressed, and even though the rest of Boston was destroyed, they made it through...no worries.

I'm usually a fan of Steven Spielberg, and I think that War of the Worlds had a lot of potential, but someone dropped the ball on this one (tempted to blame Tom Cruise here, but I really don't think he's the one responsible for this fumble)! Oh, but one more thing...I think that bacteria being the downfall of aliens was a pretty cool touch. That's just the immunologist in me...