Of all the incarnations of War Of The Worlds...this one is by far the worst.
The way the go from the Martian invaders wantonly killing everyone...to chilling in their house...or going on leisurely bicycle rides, generally unscathed...is patently ridiculous.
We find ourselves following three random kids, who-for some reason- are important enough to care about.
Even if that reason is not particularly clear.
Less it be that they are "the chosen ones", who need to be "saved" by an especially hypocritical, hardline, religious zealot (so he can repopulate the Earth with their female friend), or whatever.
The whole thing is about 90% childish drama, and 10% action...when it clearly needs to be the other way around.
Despite the fact that all the action is rendered with CGI (albeit, better than you might expect from a production of this caliber- think, akin to Monsters, or Nope, to get an idea).
The plot structure is absolutely horrible.
Because you get all this inane drama...followed by a ridiculous twist, that comes out of nowhere.
Used to abruptly wrap up story...without any explanation...or any attempt to connect it to the rest of the storyline.
Which doesn't make much sense.
Especially considering the aliens seem more mechanical than biological in nature.
Plus...for a film about the end of the world...there's never really any sense of urgency employed by any of the actors.
Who are really quite nonchalant about the whole ordeal.
So stuff happens.
Then it's suddenly over.
Without going into detail about any of the connecting factors...
It's just bad storytelling, overall.
And kind of stupid, to be honest.
So do yourself a favour, and just pass on this stinker.
Because it's simply not worth the time.
Unless you are looking to waste it.
2 out of 10.
The way the go from the Martian invaders wantonly killing everyone...to chilling in their house...or going on leisurely bicycle rides, generally unscathed...is patently ridiculous.
We find ourselves following three random kids, who-for some reason- are important enough to care about.
Even if that reason is not particularly clear.
Less it be that they are "the chosen ones", who need to be "saved" by an especially hypocritical, hardline, religious zealot (so he can repopulate the Earth with their female friend), or whatever.
The whole thing is about 90% childish drama, and 10% action...when it clearly needs to be the other way around.
Despite the fact that all the action is rendered with CGI (albeit, better than you might expect from a production of this caliber- think, akin to Monsters, or Nope, to get an idea).
The plot structure is absolutely horrible.
Because you get all this inane drama...followed by a ridiculous twist, that comes out of nowhere.
Used to abruptly wrap up story...without any explanation...or any attempt to connect it to the rest of the storyline.
Which doesn't make much sense.
Especially considering the aliens seem more mechanical than biological in nature.
Plus...for a film about the end of the world...there's never really any sense of urgency employed by any of the actors.
Who are really quite nonchalant about the whole ordeal.
So stuff happens.
Then it's suddenly over.
Without going into detail about any of the connecting factors...
It's just bad storytelling, overall.
And kind of stupid, to be honest.
So do yourself a favour, and just pass on this stinker.
Because it's simply not worth the time.
Unless you are looking to waste it.
2 out of 10.