Friday, January 13, 2006

The Half Bad Boy DVD Review - War of the Worlds

Summary: Great acting by Tom Cruise, fantastic special effects, and moments of serious, honest introspection cannot mask several logical inconsistencies.
Grade: C

About This Movie: Of course, the movie is based on H.G. Wells book by the same title. Aliens invade the earth with the sole purpose of overtaking the planet and covering it with blood, or something like that.

The Best Part About This DVD Is...
... the internal introspection. Moments when, while watching, you wonder, "Would I do that?" For example, would you steal a car from someone to save the life of your child? Would you kill someone in cold blood if you thought they were threatening your life?
I also like the type of father that Ray is. I know they were trying to portray him as a bad father. He isn't a bad father. Somehow, if your wife leaves you for a richer man and takes your kids with her because you chose a hard-working yet underpaid career, society wants to make you a bad father. Ray isn't a bad father. A good father loves his kids, cares about their welfare, and requires their obedience as he teaches them about survival in the real world.

The Worst Part About This DVD Is...
... the complete lack of logic. For example, why would aliens bury tripods in the earth millions of years ago, in an attempt to take over the earth today? Why not take over millions of years ago? And how is it that, despite many of these being buried in the city, nobody has ever dug one up in the history of mankind? And how is it that, despite having advanced technology where they can ride lightning bolts through solid matter, vaporize objects, and project shields around themselves that repulse anything they wish, the aliens somehow cannot ascertain the deadliness of the environment and compensate for it prior to coming to earth? And, how is it that millions people are dying all over the place, but every single member of Ray's family survives?

The Bottom Line
A friend categorized this movie well as being like a piece of art that could be a masterpiece, except the artist decided to unveil it before it was really finished. There are some parts of this movie that are great and others that are simply either unfinished or illogical. The unfinished parts keep this from being a great movie, but it is still entertaining to watch if you can suspend reality.