I'm Back! War of the Worlds movie review

Ok, I think things are running ok at WNC Citizens Blog. We got rained out Friday afternoon right before 2pm, and I stayed in the truck listening to "Heads Up America" before I left the job site. I started my three day weekend early by... going home and to sleep!

Saturday, I went to Ruby Cinemas in Franklin and watched the 2.10 pm showing of "War of the Worlds."

Spoiler Warning! Read no further in this post if you haven't seen the movie and/or don't want to know!!!

Normally, I don't care for "re-imagings" of movies or of books. I hold the original book by the original author as cannon. That being said, the 1950's version was so bad, almost anything could be an improvement.

My major problem with the movie is an apparent lack of consistent model size on the walkers (tripods), their size changed from a couple hundred feet to maybe 500, then down to a hundred feet.

The movie began in modern times with Morgan Freeman, I think, speaking the prologue. That was done very well. The aliens use of lightning strikes to ride down to previously buried walkers was a stupid idea. Whoever thought of that should be horselaughed out of Hollywood. Another problem I have with the movie is that the Paramount name was on it. They have ruined the Star Trek franchise, and I attend their (Paramount) offerings with great trepidation.

The general story line is good, and I thought the actors performed well. I appreciated the use of the 10th Mtn Division from Ft. Drum , New York in the story, although as a certified military entusiast, I wanted to see more use of Air Force assets, including a demonstration of the walkers surviving a nuke blast... even a small atomic demolition device! I realize even with The Great One (Speilberg) involved, the Paramount pukes wouldn't fork over enough cash for special effects. Remember Lord of the Rings has changed audience expectations forever!

Overall, I give the movie 8 out of 10 pigs.

Off the cuff rating system legend

# of pigs Means

0 The theatre should be boycotted and management taken to task!

1 Call the theatre and complain about their bad movie selection

2 Don't see it and don't buy or rent the DVD when it comes out

3 Only watch it if a friend (one w/o taste!) offers it to you (pull down the shades while watching)

4 Show up at the theatre in disguise if you must

5 Watch it only if someone else is paying!

6 No disguise needed! Purchasing is frowned upon, but renting is ok.

7 Watch it and Buy it, you can even pay for someone else to watch it with you

8 Worth it even if the popcorn eats a hole in your wallet, tell your friends about the movie

9 You can see this more than once! Pre-order the DVD, and buy memorabilia

10 If this movie doesn't win an Oscar, well, we already know that Hollywood rarely rewards movies of this calibre anyway, as it probably
has too much in it for Red Staters to cherish!!!


Gotta run

Bobby