I've been a fan of this story since I was a child, and though most attempts to bring it to the "big" screen have fallen short, this low budget incarnation actually seems to be the best modern take on the old Victorian era tale. Yes, it's better aligned to the original H. G. Welles script than anything ever attempted, and for that I feel it deserves some respect. Even the BBC version from a couple fo years back had to go off on some weird, post-apocalyptic tangent, and become an unresolved mess, despite coming so close to doing the story justice in terms of budget. And to this day, I can't understand why Spielberg made changes to the Martian arrival like he did.
The special effects could be better, but without seeing the budget, based on the movie as a whole, I can tell that it's well done for the money. The acting isn't top level from everyone, but decent enough to watch, and the lead cast does a very respectable job. It also didn't take long to spot the bad story pacing. Some critics say it's slow-paced and boring, but that's not really the issue, it's a failure to prioritise the most interesting parts in editing. The story actually follows the original chapters very faithfully, albeit some practical changes.
It's important to see this story from the perspective of humans that don't have inside knowledge (unlike the 1953 version). They're just caught in the middle of this event and have to survive in media blackout (Like Spielberg's version). It also makes the few action sequences far more riveting when we have to deal with character-driven motivations and struggles, instead of a block-by-block special effects and action movie.
Give it a chance, lower your expectations, but most importantly get to know he original story before you criticize this portrayal of what makes WotW such an amazing tale. This is basically not as interesting as the 1953 version, not as entertaining as Spielberg's, but for the budget... it's just a pretty darn good attempt, and the most true to the source material.
The special effects could be better, but without seeing the budget, based on the movie as a whole, I can tell that it's well done for the money. The acting isn't top level from everyone, but decent enough to watch, and the lead cast does a very respectable job. It also didn't take long to spot the bad story pacing. Some critics say it's slow-paced and boring, but that's not really the issue, it's a failure to prioritise the most interesting parts in editing. The story actually follows the original chapters very faithfully, albeit some practical changes.
It's important to see this story from the perspective of humans that don't have inside knowledge (unlike the 1953 version). They're just caught in the middle of this event and have to survive in media blackout (Like Spielberg's version). It also makes the few action sequences far more riveting when we have to deal with character-driven motivations and struggles, instead of a block-by-block special effects and action movie.
Give it a chance, lower your expectations, but most importantly get to know he original story before you criticize this portrayal of what makes WotW such an amazing tale. This is basically not as interesting as the 1953 version, not as entertaining as Spielberg's, but for the budget... it's just a pretty darn good attempt, and the most true to the source material.