entertainment Paramount Pictures- War of the Worlds (2005) opinions and reviews

Paramount Pictures- War of the Worlds (2005)

Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures’ War of the Worlds, directed by Stephen Spielberg, is a modern remake of H.G. Wells's classic. The sci-fi adventure has Tom Cruise in the lead who as a common man (Ray Ferrier) makes every possible endeavour to save his children from a devastating alien attack on earth.

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and simultaneously has been unsuccessful in fulfilling his responsibilities as a father too. One fine day, his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) and her new husband leave their two children son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) for an odd weekend stay at their dad’s place.

Not long after, a lighting storm of very high intensity hits the earth and only seconds later, Ray is witness to something that will transform their lives completely. A gigantic three-legged hostile war mechanism is seen appearing from deep underneath the earth’s surface. Hardly before anyone could take the shock of this extraordinary happening, everything in the vicinity was destroyed.

A normal day had abruptly turned into the most astonishing occurrence of their life span – it was indeed the first blow in a shattering alien attack on Earth.

Gathering all his wits and courage, Ray gets hold of his two dear possessions and embarks on a journey to protect his children’s life from the new-fangled enemy of the earth. They pass through the countryside, completely ruined by the alien forces, where they are caught among a desperate surge of refugees fleeing from an extraterrestrial army of Tripods.

But wherever they scamper to, there’s no guarantee of safety. It all depends on Ray Ferrier’s insurmountable resolve to shield his dear kids.

Tom Cruise is in top gear enhancing his acting skills even further by enacting the role of a wobbly personality as the unsuccessful husband Ray Ferrier before the fright of losing his children brings out the strong persona in Ferrier. Not to be forgotten though are Ferrier’s terrorized kids (played Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin), whose authentic portrayals make the pain almost unbearable for the audiences. Tim Robbins’ performance stands out as perhaps the only sour grape amongst all the plusses.

War of the Worlds is an astonishing and gripping sci-fi tale from the great man of Hollywood, Steven Spileberg. After Jaws and Jurassic Park, this is undoubtedly his best offering in action, science fiction category. Jam-packed with some dramatic, eye-catching sequences, WOTW astounds alarms and keeps you hooked like only a Spielberg special can.

Credits:
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Josh Friedman, David Koepp
Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto