Rating: C-
Dir: Junaid Syed
Star: Sam Gittins, Alhaji Fofana, Lara Lemon, Leo Staar
There’s a case to be made that War of the Worlds is the last good movie Steven Spielberg made. Y’know, before he was replaced by a soulless film-making automaton. Approaching two decades later, his War remains the standard against which all other adaptations of H.G. Wells’s novel are measured – and, inevitably, found wanting. But the lure of a public domain classic, free for the plundering, remains seductive, especially for those who can’t afford the rights to more recent works. The problem is, you basically can’t tell the story without a significant budget. This struggles slightly less than some in that department, due to Syed’s background in visual effects. However, his feature debut has difficulty finding its voice.
In many ways, it’s a faithful version, beginning with a Martian capsule landing on Horsell Common. Herbert Wells (Gittins) observes it and the subsequent destruction wreaked as the invasion unfolds. Tripods, red weed, an artilleryman (Staar) and a lunatic preacher (Vincent Regan) follow, before – and I trust I’m not spoiling this for anyone – Earth bacteria destroy the Martians, who have never heard of spacesuits or biohazards. Here though, Herb is a college student, joined by colleagues Oggy (Fofana) and Hannah (Lemon). Both names may be WotW references. In the book, there’s an astronomer called Ogilvy, and Spielberg’s version starred Dakota Fanning, whose first name is actually Hannah. This also opens with the first of several direct quotes: “…slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us.” Personally, I then burst into the first three notes of Jeff Wayne’s iconic musical version. Probably not alone either.
For there are times where this teeters on the edge of turning into Shawn of the Worlds. At one point, Oggy says, “We’re British, Hannah! Let’s make some cups of tea,” shortly before she sees someone outside, and solemnly pronounces, “There’s something in the garden.” Oggy then picks up a cricket-bat to defend himself. Hmm. At other points, it feels curiously underplayed: witness the near total lack of reaction when the tripods first appear on Horsell Common. Nobody is as much as whipping out their phones to take pics of it, and natural British reserve can only explain so much. The ending still sucks too. #BecauseMicrobes perhaps passed muster in 19th century times. Now? Not so much.
To be fair, that’s an issue common to all adaptations. However, Spielberg packed his version full of spectacle, leaving the viewer well enough satisfied before the wobbly resolution. This can’t offer anything like the same wallop visually, and the characters too often stray toward annoying, in particular Oggy. There is not much here which will stick in your mind as a defining trait. Even The Asylum’s mockbuster version did some interesting things with the central character. This may simply be too faithful to the original. Dragging the story wholesale into the present day feels like it caused more problems than it solves, such as the clunky and fortuitous presence of analogue walkie-talkies. It’s all only marginally competent and almost wholly forgettable.