War of the Worlds (2005) (V)

Director:

David Michael Latt

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel)
David Michael Latt (written by) ...

Release Date:

28 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Invasion Has Already Begun.

Plot:

In this modern retelling of H.G. Wells' sci-fi classic, civilization is laid to ruin when a race of super aliens invades Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Comet | Search For Family | Alien Invasion | Loss Of Faith

Cast

C. Thomas Howell	...	George Herbert
Rhett Giles	...	Pastor Victor
Andrew Lauer	...	Sgt. Kerry Williams (as Andy Lauer)
Tinarie Van Wyk-Loots	...	Felicity Herbert
Jake Busey	...	Lt. Samuelson (as William Busey)
Dashiell Howell	...	Alex Herbert (as Dash Howell)
Peter Greene	...	Matt Herbert
Kim Little	...	Rebecca
Edward DeRuiter	...	Max (as Ed Deruiter)
Meredith Laine	...	Audrey
Matthew Jaeger	...	Jared
Cayman Mitchell	...	Jake
Luis de Amechazurra	...	Bill
Gary Robbins	...	Jules
Bernadette Perez	...	Elaine

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds (USA) (complete title)
Invasion (UK) (cable TV title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Goofs:

Continuity: George Herbert carries a black backpack, which mysteriously appears and disappears through out the movie.

Movie Connections:

References "The Simpsons" (1989)

Well written, shot, and acted, better than expected overall

After martians begin an invasion of earth, a man begins his journey across north America to find his family. Along the way he meets many people, including a priest and a military officer. First off, lots of people are gonna compare this film to the $128,000,000 Spielberg version, which in my eye is completely unfair. This independent version was only made for a million dollars, which was probably the catering budget of Spielberg's version! This film comes from The Asylum, a company who's responsible for many low-budget sci-fi/horror films, including the weak "Alien Abduction" and "Jolly Rogers: Massacre at Cutter's Cove". Because the Asylum was behind the film I expected the least, but this film was blessed with three things I never expected from it: Good acting, writing, and a nice look.

The actors definitely deserve a lot of credit on this one, just about the entire cast gave very good performances. The only weak actor here is Jake Busey, whom I usually enjoy in movies; his performance here is campy, over-the-top and decidedly unconvincing.

The writing, as I said, was a lot better than expected. The characters were well rounded and likable. The priest, Victor, was especially realistically executed.

Despite the low-budget, the film was well-shot. Director David M. Latt has done a nice job with what little money he had and produces some memorable images.

The score, by Ralph Rieckermann, was also better than average. It's nice to see a no-budget sci-fi or horror film made in 2005 that doesn't resort to heavy metal or pop music or any MTV crap like that, but instead utilizes a real score.

The film has some problems, too. The special effects were terrible—everything from the crab-like machines the martians drive to the martians themselves (which resemble mechanical octopuses) are absolutely laughable, and if poor special effects turn you off, you might as well not bother with the film. The makers also resorted to throwing in a brief but gratuitous nude scene, an unwise choice in an otherwise well thought-out screenplay.

Overall, I liked "War of the Worlds" more than I thought I would. The production values weren't stellar but good acting, characters, and a well-written screenplay helped what could have otherwise been a disaster.

6.5/10.