johnke.meWar of the Worlds
This is only my second time watching this film. The last time I watched it was on the opening day in the cinema and the main thing I remember is how much this felt like a post-9/11 movie. Watching it now, twenty years later, and having lived in Warsaw and learned so much about what happened to the Jewish people there during WWII, it’s clear how Spielberg was channeling the feelings of 9/11 — the confusion, the panic, the helplessness — as well as the imagery (the “lost persons” signs, the dust) to make a film that’s less interested in the “Worlds” and more interested in the “War”. This is a film about the trauma of being a civilian trapped in the machinery of one-sided conflict, and all the terror and devastation that entails.
The first half of this film is an all-timer. The second half, specifically the Ogilvy section, is a tonal shift but still within Spielberg’s comfort-zone, so he handles it brilliantly.
Also I would be remiss if I reviewed a Tom Cruise film and didn’t complain about how he wasn’t the right person for this role. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great at selling the panic. A believable, emotionally conflicted father? Not so much!