Customer Reviews

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

First I have to say I understand that a lot of studios deal with small budgets, and as a result have to make use with what they have. A lot of people can get away with very little, (look at the success of the cheaply and quickly made "Pyscho" for example) so I always have a quiet respect for those shoe-string productions. This film was obviously in the same boat. (Nu Image reportedly makes their films on an average budget of $2 million) As a result, you won't see a mass armada of alien ships blasting through a wide American countryside and you won't see a massive skyline of destroyed New York. What's the ultimate result? A mixed bag.

Like another reviewer said, there is a lot of potential here ruined by writing and some of the special effects. The acting is probably the best I've seen in any direct-to-video market. C. Thomas Howell comes out strong as the main character, though Rhett Giles nearly steals the show as Pastor Victor, a Catholic priest who joins Howell for a good while. (and constantly walks the thin line of becoming the cliche loony priest)

The problem is the script really kills a lot of what could have made it a decent movie. For example, nobody knows that it's aliens attacking earth, people think terrorists are attacking. You're telling me no one would have figured it out, or known landing pods were attacking? And supposedly the Martian arrival was so surprising that the government in Washington was wiped out. H.G. Wells' characters saw the Martian landing craft coming to earth well before it landed, you're telling me no one saw these coming until the day they landed (even the main character, an ASTRONOMER mind you, doesn't see them until he looks through his son's telescope) and no one caught on we were being invaded by aliens, not terrorists or creatures from the earth? I also find it funny in sci-fi/horror movies when soldiers armed with M16's and pistols open fire on large metal vehicles. Your average soldier wouldn't even shoot at a tank, why would they shoot at a giant alien craft? Also I was constantly thinking, "Where are the tanks? Where are the bombers? Where are the military craft that actually do serious damage?" There's a line where C. Thomas Howell says, "Missiles didn't work against them" though I don't know how he knows that, since we haven't even HEARD about them being used. I know this is low budget, but come on. Speaking of the military, the dialogue between soldiers is terrible! Imagine every cliche line you'd expect an officer to say, then picture it coming out of Jake Busey's mouth. That's what you get here. The scene where C. Thomas Howell loses his family's photo and cries over it was a great scene, but the effect gets ruined when Jake "My Dentist Loves Me" Busey appears and reminds us that the writers didn't even try to google military commands when they did this.

I also think the title was a poor choice: this is not H.G. Well's "War of the Worlds," this is David Michael Latt's film version of "War of the Worlds," which admittingly takes some bits from the script surprisingly lacking in many film adaptations. The character of the artilleryman is replaced with a soldier, the story is told pretty much from the main character's point of view, and Victor obviously replaces the curator. There's the Martian gas and the death from disease, but the event takes place in modern times and the Martians attack worldwide, (assumingly) plus the tripods are replaced with six legged walking crafts.

All in all, what could have been a decent low-budget sci-fi film - heck, even a poor adaptation forgivable because of delivery - gets destroyed by poor writing that reminds you you're watching a direct-to-video movie. If you're a die hard C. Thomas Howell fan or Jake Busey inspires you to brush your teeth religiously, then by all means rent this.

David Michael Latt's adaptation of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" is a letdown compared to the other film adaptations out there. Good storytelling with great acting from C. Thomas Howell and others is compromised by the cliched (and what has become a dreadfully overused element) of graphic violence and gore used in typical "horror" films. The DVD has some good extras, but nothing to praise. I would only recommend this adaptation of Wells' sci-fi/horror classic to fans of those horror films I have mentioned above, and also to fans of Howell's work.
Movie/DVD Grade: B-

Asylum makes some good movies and some bad movies. This is one of their best. Special effects (digital and old-school), scenery/locations, and acting are all good to great. The script is obviously different from other adaptations of "War of the Worlds", but that's not a problem with this movie. It is both fun and interesting.

- C. Thomas Howell is the main character. As such, he undergoes the greatest transformation over 97 minutes. He gives an outstanding performance.
- Rhett Giles gives a notable performance as a priest whose character also changes radically during the movie.
- Jake Busey is perfect as a soldier who falls completely apart. His (minor) character is both intelligent and completely insane.

Apart from some brief nudity at the beginning, this movie is PG-13 at worst. Some graphic violence/gore and complex adult situations make this movie too adult for pre-teens.

It appears quite clear to me that David Michael Latt is not receiving the fair amount of praise he deserves for this film. His take on the Wells novel, in my honest opinion, ranks high on all levels. Infact, I would even go so far as to put it right up there with Byron Haskin's 1953 original. Those who bash it, I believe, are just way too nitpicky.

This is a B-movie, friends. Latt never went out of his way to lie and foolishly claim it is anything more. Unlike Pendragon's Timothy Hines, who conned everybody into thinking he was crafting the next best thing to "Gone With The Wind," Mr. Latt was upfront from day one. He knew what his resources were, he wasn't trying to outdo Spielberg, and he maintained a firm mindset over how he felt this version of "War of the Worlds" should play out. And, for the most part, I truly feel in my heart that he succeeded. In as much the same manner as the Spielberg film, Latt sets his story in the present day. But, unlike that other feature, Asylum's production follows the novel's basic outline in fairly accurate detail.

No, the special effects are not letter perfect. But, they are also light years far and away removed from the pathetically cheap print-shop effects we saw in Pendragon's fiasco. I actually quite liked the spider-legged battle tank war machines. The acting, as well, contrary to petty critique, is perfectly acceptable. C. Thomas Howell, Tinaire Van Wyk-Loots, and Rhett Giles all delivered the finely leveled performances I expected. You won't find any phony accents or fakey facial hair in this one! Are you listening, Timothy Hines? Good pacing, too, I must say. Not once did I find myself glancing down at my watch. The story, familiar as it already was, really pulled me in far more than I initially thought it would.

A nice behind the scenes featurette rounds out this specific DVD package and delves into the dedication Latt harbored for the production. The sheer passion he possessed to make this film happen radiates through his every word and, for my money, he pulled off a small miracle.

In closing, I was ultimately very pleasantly satisfied. Asylum Entertainment did an overall fine job with putting this together. Even if you may have found yourself turned off in the past by Asylum's other offerings, you should still give this title a chance. It surprised me and, if you go into it with an open mind, it may just surprise you too.

One of no less than three film adaptations of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds released in 2005, this direct-to-DVD affair may be the least original and least engaging version of the classic science fiction novel ever produced. The film is a dreadful mess, chaotically offering up traditional apocalyptic themes and scenarios without any of the action, imagination, or commentary that grant the genre its appeal. When the film isn't confusing us with aimless drama or confronting us with unexpected violence it's just plain boring. C. Thomas Howell does a fine job of portraying the story's astronomer hero in spite of a lamentable script, standing as one of the only successful elements in the haphazard ensemble. Many elements have been inserted as clear tributes to Wells' novel despite updating--the film's modern setting allowed distributor the Asylum to make an attempt at capitalizing on the success of Spielberg's far more effective blockbuster--but the resulting scenes always seem forced or illogical. Visual effects are appalling and, as a result, the alien invasion is utterly unconvincing in both scope and power. We're granted the rare beautiful depiction of grand destruction, most often in digital matte paintings, but there's absolutely no real sense that the world is being brought to its end by the giant, computer-generated machines that occasionally appear spouting ridiculous heat rays, nor does the limited budget allow us to see the human populace reacting believably to the attacks. What's more, the alien menace presented here bears none of the distinctive traits that make Wells' celebrated invaders so recognizable. Surprising stylistic shifts in the film's final scenes can't save this apocalyptic piece from becoming a catastrophe. This version of War of the Worlds is hard to follow, difficult to believe, and even more difficult to enjoy.

--Brian A. Dixon
Revelation Magazine

This movie is proof that you really need to look closely at the box before renting or buying. I grabbed it in the video store without looking too close. I found out when I got home that this is not the big-budget, big-star, big special effects movie I was expecting. Nope, instead it looks like something that might end up on the Sci-Fi channel late, late at night.

I purchased this to "showcase" the George Pal version from 1953 because for certain classic films I like having differing versions for comparison to the original. This version makes almost *any* film look good. Even "Plan 9 from Outer Space"!

The scriptwriters appear to have used only the most basic premise and enough plot points to keep the title of the book. The script is pedestrian, full of trite dialog and lots of moments with horrible pacing and extremely flawed logic. It tries to be sophisticated, but simply flounders under the weight of it's own pretensions. The acting, if you can call it that, is wooden, stilted, simply terrible. However, in all fairness it could be the poor script and/or direction that caused the acting to suffer. The few special effects are passable for a "made for TV" type production but overall unremarkable and lackluster. The Martian ships look like rejects from "Starship Troopers" bug population walking around on 6, not 3, legs. Overall this direct-to-video film looks and plays like an incredibly poor "made for TV" type movie. Worse than the worst "made for Sci-Fi Channel" movie you could imagine. Even worse than the worst high school play you've ever seen. I knew I was in trouble after the first 5 minutes and it just went downhill after that. I normally watch everything I purchase, but this one was so bad I was compelled to skip 5-10 minute segments several times just to get through a single viewing.

Productions like this are what give the direct-to-video market a bad rap. 0 stars really.

This movie was called INVASION, then they changed its name H.G. WELLS WAR OF THE WORLDS just before the Spielberg film came out. This is not the other H.G. WELLS THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, which was a low budget adaptation trying to do the book. NOW the producers have changed the name back to INVASION again to cash in on the TV series, INVASION, about to broadcast. This movie is not WELLS. It is not WAR OF THE WORLDS. The nudity that they put in it is bland and you are better off renting PORN if you want that. Avoid this movie like the plague. If you look at this company's website, they gleefully have knocked off (copied) many bigger movies as their mainstay. If this movie were a newspaper it would make the fish wrapped in it smell bad.

I have recently seen the new Steven Spielberg Movie and have seen the old fifty's War of the Worlds and enjoyed both so I thought I would surely enjoy this one as well. Well I was Wrong. In the movie there are only 2 0r 3 scenes with the alien tripods, and those scenes are very short. The tripods did include heat rays that were similar to the ones from the book and the Steven Spielberg movie put the whole thing looked like a giant crab or spider. and the aliens somewhat reminded me of the movie "Alien". I prefer the aliens from the other War of the Worlds movies a lot better, especially the 1953 version. I would only recommend this movie to someone that wants to see all the War of the Worlds movie to compare them (Like me)otherwise I suggest you watch another movie instead.

The studio that produced this. the asylum, has made a rare miss of a film. instead of being horrible it is complemented by strong acting, a good story and average special effects. a sweet suprise.