War of the Worlds
© James C. Hess
The discussion started a few years ago in groups and gatherings categorized unfairly and prejudicially as 'fringe elements' and 'deliberately conspiratorial' continues, gaining momentum and favor as it endures: The need, the want, the desire for good stories and good storytellers, ever growing, and if anyone requires sufficient evidence as to why this is one needs to look no further than Hollywood itself, which, of late, finds itself in a certain order of slow demise and death, with the latest example of this destiny being the remake of "War of the Worlds", directed by Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg's take on this science fiction classic is undeniable popular culture pap, garbage, and crap: It is a big budget effort with little imagination and creativity involved. It is clunky and awkward. It is a visual sensation but lacks soul and joy that would otherwise come of such an effort, especially with the likes of Steven Spielberg at the helm, whose "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" almost single-handedly redefined and reinvigorated the genre. It creaks and groans narratively, it limps and lumbers to the deliberate and predictable conclusion found in previous efforts with budgets far less. ("War of the Worlds" reportedly cost $150 million dollars.) There is no motivation for events that transpire, and there is no reason or rationale for what results as response by humans under attack by aliens. (Personal aside: If I found myself on the receiving end of an attack by a party or parties unknown it is very unlikely I would take time to gawk and wonder at what it was that was attacking me. My response would be one of survival and self-defense.)
That this version of "War of the Worlds" follows the narrative methodology and formula of experiencing a given catastrophe through the subjective opinions, the eyes of a few foreground characters is, at best, incidential. The characters chosen for this task are, at best, superficial and one-dimensional. The characters chosen to do this are, at best, incidential, and do little to give credence and consideration to the events at hand, themselves often disjointed and non-linear, without sufficient interest and consideration. (Consider for comparison the equally-dreadful "The Day After Tomorrow", the high-handed and often preachy effort whose premise was about the global consequences of cosmic events, which did a far superior job of presenting the events at hand by way of this particular tactic.).
Consider, within the construct of the narrative of "War of the Worlds", the following relevant fact: Martians have traveled millions of miles to launch a massive attack on a crane operator, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), and his neighbors for no apparent reason or due cause. And how do Ray and CO. respond? They run away, and, after the fact, defend their children and families.
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