War of the Worlds - Nostalgia Critic

It's the film everybody hated the ending of when it came out, but are there some redeeming qualities about Spielberg's alien epic? Nostalgia Critic takes a look at Tom Cruise's, War of the Worlds.
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War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction action-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on H. G. Wells' 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise stars in the main role alongside Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins, with narration by Morgan Freeman. It follows an American dock worker who must look after his children, from whom he lives separately, as he struggles to protect them and reunite them with their mother when extraterrestrials invade Earth and devastate cities with giant war machines.
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[@ChannelAwesome]

Tom Cruise as an every man. Did you like War of the Worlds? Join our KZbin Members only - kzbin.info/door/iH828EtgQjTyNIMH6YiOSwjoin Watch last weeks NC - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gprFpWiFe558l6c Check out our store - channelawesome.myshopify.com/

[@BLMT-df4on]

Ho

[@TabathaTMartin]

Despite how flawed the third act is, I really liked the movie. True Rachel's screaming is much, but it makes sense, seeing as she's just a little girl. The effects, sound design, acting, and the music are the main reasons I love this movie so much. I put it above the Lost World tbh. Don't even get me started on the Tripods or we will be here all day.

[@anubusx]

I thought it was really good.

[@Myself-yf5do]

Now that you've reviewed this, you should do the other adaptations of this book, like the Asylum, Pendragon, and Goliath ones.

[@zillafilmsstudios854]

Can you review the cloverfield franchise

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Fun Fact: While filming nearby, Tom Cruise, along with a twenty-member entourage including Steven Spielberg, visited a Lexington, Virginia Dairy Queen. Cruise saw a jar on the counter with a photo of Ashley Flint and her story. Flint had been in a go-cart accident a few months earlier, leaving her family with a mountain of hospital bills. Cruise put $5,000 cash into the jar.

[@HAL-st4ll]

Did he go to the nearest bank in between or did he just happen to have that much with him in his wallet?

[@ChrisWolff2013]

That's pure class right there

[@twofacetoo75]

@@HAL-st4ll Yeah I make sure to always carry $5,000 cash on me at all times, just in case I get mugged.

[@Tsupek]

@@HAL-st4llits cruise some my moneys on him just carry that much cash around for the hell of it

[@mrcritical6751]

Say what you will about Cruise’s background and beliefs, he is apparently super nice

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: When the aliens are investigating the junk in the basement, one of them plays with a bicycle wheel. This is a reference to the original book; the main character observes that, with all the advanced technology the aliens possess, they do not use any wheels, and wonders if the alien life form had skipped the invention of the wheel.

[@autobotproductions1244]

now that is interesting

[@cracno1125]

Another fun fact: Is that the evacuation in the movie is named "Operation Thunderchild" an obvious nod to the similar scene in the book.

[@jamesb.russell2942]

So the aliens are like Africans?

[@cracno1125]

@@jamesb.russell2942 Other way around.

[@dannygreen592]

@@autobotproductions1244 Not really, how the hell do you evolve from nothing to being a machine driven world having not invented the wheel makes no sense.

[@jannik471]

Another Fun Fact: The grandparents shown in the last scene in Boston are actually the two main actors from the 1950s version of war of the worlds.

[@Residentevil1998racooncity]

Yep I knew that, I've seen the original with my mom

[@questworldiangreenknight7455]

AWESOME

[@Mildlyinsanespinelfanboy]

I need to watch this movie already

[@AirQuotes]

Ooo that's cool

[@kenguyii9108]

Honestly, seeing the Tripod coming out of the ground for the first time, blowing out its haunting horn, and then started turning people into dust, is one of the scariest scenes of the movie! I was utterly terrified of them! 😱

[@TheRezro]

Only good part of the movie

[@Spectra651]

I saw the film in the theater and I can still remember the way that horn rattled your bones whenever it sounded. It really made the tripods seem all the more intimidating and frightening.

[@darkstarmoonshadow8892]

Every time I hear that wailing horn my stomach drops

[@GrandmasterDevo]

As shocking as it was seeing people get zapped into talcum powder, the fact that their clothes didn't get dusted too took something away from that. Seriously, why didn't the clothes turn to dust too??

[@TheRezro]

@@GrandmasterDevo Because this movie is hilarious.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

The ending with the aliens dying from common cold is not bad. It's actually very elegant. It reflects how real colonization attempts were sometimes foiled by diseases the invaders were unprepared for. And it makes sense for the aliens who, if you've read the book, had basically eliminated all disease on their planet, which meant there was nothing to keep their immune systems in shape.

[@matityaloran9157]

It’s also how the book ends

[@Ishaninja]

The book is about colonialism, the movie is not. So the ending no longer works

[@vincentmarcellino7183]

It was the true original ending. How it was written

[@matityaloran9157]

@@Ishaninja Disease being a major unpredictable force in history and political conflict is a part of the book that aged very well

[@cybercobra2]

@@Ishaninja disagree on it not working just becouse the movie isnt about colonialism. the idea that we coudnt beat the aliens but the aliens lost becouse they simply did not account for our diseases being extremely deadly is a good one and a fun payoff for them being so seemingly invincible. the problem with the ending is just there needed to be a bigger payoff BEFORE that ending. simply going "we stuffed a grenade in one and it blew up" isnt good enough for much the movie is about spectacle.

[@Music-City-Mania]

“Hey, honey. Let me just shower the neighbors off of me.” That was HILARIOUSLY dark! 🤣🤣

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Very true.

[@Lowkeylie]

That sounded like something straight out of a Rick and Morty episode lol

[@FranciscoSilva-bv9qq]

what's darker is this was a 9/11 reference to people covered in the dust from the WTC debris.

[@trekkieraccoon3343]

I snorted at the addition of "don't run we are your friends" from mars attacks

[@OverlordZephyros]

​​@@FranciscoSilva-bv9qq hi honey, let me dust off my coworkers off of me

[@jacobwolf3900]

It always pissed me off that the brother was willing to abandon his sister. It doesn't seem like he wanted to fight to protect her only to prove himself.

[@billjacobs521]

I guess he thought he was by, uh, following the army guys?

[@questworldiangreenknight7455]

Yeah, I can’t stand those kinds of characters 🙄 from apocalyptic movies

[@Backhoe_mafia]

From my view he represents a young generation who witnessed 9/11 in school and wanted to join the military right after to get back at them.

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

What I love about this film is Tom cruise IS not the action hero he always is dudes out of his element, he’s just a dad trying to keep his family and he plays it great!

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: During the filming of the underwater scenes (where the ferry capsizes), director Steven Spielberg played a prank on Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning by playing the dramatic music from Jaws (also one of Spielberg's films) through the massive underwater speakers on the sound stage.

[@cadendicky1855]

Spielberg has a pretty sick sense of humor...I want more of it.

[@LucyLioness100]

I’m not surprised he’d do that 😅

[@Tsupek]

Cruise: “oh no, Shark!!” *Cruise in head*: “Finally!””

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

What a merry prankster.

[@jacechretin4597]

No real danger there since Bruce the mechanical shark always had malfunctions on set.

[@chance_ondriezek99]

In my opinion, one of Spielberg’s most underrated films. Plus, the 9/11-inspired imagery after Tom Cruise survives the first attack is haunting in the best way possible

[@anubusx]

I noticed that myself.

[@Paiste2002Fan]

Yeah, this movie is meant to be more of an experience than anything. The 9-11 imagery, the panic, people fighting amongst themselves and the brutal slaughter of people like they were bugs really makes you feel like you are there. It makes you wonder how you would react in a situation like that and it’s as exciting as it is uncomfortable.

[@EChacon]

@@Paiste2002FanAnd also explains Robbie’s obsession on wanting to join the army.

[@michaelrussell3890]

Also, one of John Williams most underrated soundtracks

[@user-dp5kc3qp7o]

and the music and sound desing is so daam good!

[@bradyfitzy]

I remember my dad taking me to see this, and our town's movie theatre had a warning on the poster saying, "this movie is not recommended for very young children, it may contain disturbing imagery and strong violence" or something like that. My dad ignored it and bought us the tickets and i still remember staying for the whole movie while other parents walked out with their kids

[@trekkieraccoon3343]

I remember calling out of work to go see this movie the day it came out

[@ericseitzler81]

You must be young bc in the 80s are parents took us to see robocop and other similar films.

[@bradyfitzy]

@@ericseitzler81 I was either 8 or 9 when this came out

[@dannygreen592]

Lmao man this generation has no intelligence and no spine. What a bad combo that get's passed down to all modern zoomers.

[@TheRezro]

They probably did that because movie is quite bad.

[@trytotopthis3152]

The car mob scene is absolutely terrifying on a realistic level. What's chilling to me is that it actually isn't far off at all from how OUR world was reacting in March 2020 when there was uncertainty about the pandemic. People fighting over toilet paper, raiding the shelves at the grocery store until there was nothing left, shopping lines so long that they extended way outside the store. Human civility is thrown out the window in times of crisis. Straight up.

[@RX-12]

The basement murder scene as well. If you’re a parent it really makes you think about how far you’d go to protect your child.

[@thatguyguy3777]

The joker was right in this philosophy "when the chips are down, these uuhhhh these civilized people. They'll EAT eachother"

[@cgh7337]

I agree. If you watch that scene, you can see one guy on the hood of the minivan actually trying to get into the van by ripping open a hole in the glass of the windshield with his bare hands showing how desperate people would be to have access to a working automobile in the situation.

[@williamdixon-gk2sk]

Not to be cynical, but it would be much worse. People lost it over a rampant case of the sniffles with marginally less toilet paper than normal. Now, really picture what they'd do if Alien death machines were popping out of the ground.

[@Alvaro89Rus]

Most people are weak willed cowards, what a discovery.

[@jacechretin4597]

At least this one better represented the book with tripods, red weeds, and a crazy guy in a basement.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Quite true.

[@yrenekurtz5268]

Also, the whole "close relative that the MC though was dead happens to be alive and unharmed by the end" is too something that happens in the book.

[@sopcannon]

the musical had that too

[@gambitraider5475]

But i want a thunder child fight!!! OooooooLaaaaaaa!!!

[@matthewmuir8884]

Sure, but that's all superficial. There is one thing very core to the book that the movie discarded and didn't replace with anything: the central theme. The novel was condemnation of colonialism and empires, with the Martians doing to Britain what Britain had done to a quarter of the world and dying to the same thing that was the greatest hinderance to imperial armies: local diseases. The movie having the aliens attack the US in the 21st Century could've preserved the theme, as, well, the sun has set on the British Empire, and the US is the current main superpower. But the movie otherwise completely discards the central theme.

[@tyronepearce5946]

Fun fact: after Akira Toriyama (the creator of dragon ball) died, Justin chatwick payed his respects to the legend and apologised for the dragon ball movie

[@The_Acolyte_of_Spider-Man]

I feeling bad for Justin Chatwin because Hollywood making fun of him for making dragon ball fans angry😟😡

[@ThePa1riot]

That movie wasn’t his fault but I’m sure Toriyama Sensei appreciated the gesture in Heaven.

[@CashCurran]

“HERE WE ARE!! PISMO BEACH AND ALL THE CLAMS WE CAN EAT!!” I admittedly laughed too hard at that joke 😂😂😂

[@TarossBlackburn]

Should have taken that left turn...

[@Kokorocodon]

Ok, so a few thing's that critic may have missed. - The red weed is a terraforming agent. In the book, it's the explanation as to why mars became red. - The third time the aliens investigated the house is because the crazy dude was screaming his lungs out before being put down. - The loved one being alive and well after being apart trope is also in the book. - Robbie wanting to go to the military out of nowhere is probably a fight or flight response to what's his seeing. During calamities, people tend to either run or face the fear so as to not feel haunted by it. And honestly, that would be my reaction as well lmao; running would be too much of a stressor in the long term for me, might as well recieve a big dosage of fear right now rather than spread it thin.

[@alliestevens5264]

And if I'm remembering correctly, I might not giving how long I had seen the movie. The reason Tom Cruise character killed crazy basement guy was because crazy guy was talking about using Cruise's character daughter as a way to "repopulate" the world.

[@Kokorocodon]

@@alliestevens5264 Think I've missed that. But it's reason enough right there

[@PineapplePineapplePineapplePin]

Something small I appreciate that Doug does that I don't see often is he says who plays the characters as they come up. It shows a respect for the actors themselves

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Quite true.

[@autobotproductions1244]

that or the characters themselves aren't as memorable as the actors. Just a thought

[@thehorrorhound6575]

I can only think of a few off the top of my head who do that too and that’s Decker shado, Brandon tenold (who is a member of Doug’s channel awesome) cinema snob (doesn’t need to be mentioned but he’s also on channel awesome) and Mike the horror geek. So yeah adding Doug to that list feels like a pretty respectable list of reviewers.

[@DangerVille]

The ending does a great job representing how even the biggest of powers can be taken down by sheer ignorance of underestimating your enemy. They thought they were unstoppable, and didn’t even think to check for disease. It’s a representation of how unchecked power led to Britains downfall, but it also applies to every modern superpower. Whilst they could have spent a longer time leading up to it in the movie, I’m glad it stayed true to the novel. It’s infuriating when people say it’s a bad ending because the humans should have made some super weapon to take them down, which misses the point entirely.

[@kazinadbiralamadit6905]

I think the problem with the movie is that in the books it's explained in depth making us the reads understanding things a lot better, while in the movie it's just there. Other adaptations made it bigger and grander, for this it's bigger but the in depth explanation would have also come off as just a long exposition dump so it's a lose lose situation.

[@siobhannoble8545]

Pretty much all adaptations miss the original point of the novel. The Martians are basically us. They take what they need and destroy any race they deem inferior. The whole story is an allegory for colonialism. Humanity couldn't win by their own means because that would undermine the message.

[@jrr2480]

To be fair, H. G. Wells' alien 👾 designs in the novel 📖 was basically an octopus 🐙

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

Supposedly, when the book was published all other book about England's military was about how unbeatable it was. This book was about the opposite, their military facing something it couldn't beat. Only one of their vehicles were defeated by ramming a boat on it. And the alien just avoided getting in the ocean after that. Oh, and is so old that at the end scientist were studying a flying vehicle the Martians constructed. Yes, the novel is way before airplanes.

[@AlexBadger]

I had quite liked the scene with the boat, as it had only worked because the aliens were expecting to be shot at, it was cool.

[@rapatacush3]

One got beheaded by artillery, and two were beated by the boat. Another one got its leg blown up by a shell.

[@jesusromanpadro3853]

@rapatacush3 oh, thanks. It has been some years since I read it, and I only read it one time.

[@Sovreign071]

My first exposure to War of the Worlds was actually a recording of the original radio broadcast. Even though I knew it was a recording, it was downright CHILLING!

[@LucyLioness100]

Yeah that recording is pretty terrifying even after 85 years. It just relied on Welles’ iconic voice and the HG Wells text

[@matityaloran9157]

There were people at the time who mistook it for a genuine news broadcast (but not as many as you think.)

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

It’s very effective and mesmerizing.

[@elder-woodsilverstein7716]

I listened to that too. It was good.

[@8bitdiedie]

It’s like hearing a news reporter informing that everyone, including you, is about to die in the next 5 minutes.

[@DarthBiomech]

I think the ending doesn't work because there's still fighting and hope. In the book, by the time the aliens finally succumb to the diseases, everybody's morale is ground to a fine dust and even the main character himself walks towards one of the tripods with the intention to _finally die._ And only _then_ everybody learns that the aliens are over. In the movie they learn that the aliens are over by shooting a rocket at it and then cheering when it hits.

[@joelnotsure2871]

“You know what H. G. Wells’ classic story of interplanetary invasion needs? Family drama! With really annoying kids!” “Brilliant!!”

[@matthewmuir8884]

"You know what else it needs? For the core theme of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism to be completely removed and replaced with nothing!" "Even more brilliant!!!"

[@rapatacush3]

You know what it needs? The goddamn thunderchild.

[@TheGoowolf]

At least their weakness wasn't water. It's a little more understanding that an alien race would underestimate the deadliness of the diseases on the planet compared to being weak to water and trying to take over a planet that's mostly water.

[@LegioXXI]

Our planet isn't "mostly water", only our planet surface is. As an astronomical object, our planet is 98% "earth". There are true ocean worlds in space, where almost everything except the planet core is water. Our planet ain't one of them, no matter how deep the oceans seems for us humans, it's still just the planetary surface. Aliens not caring about water or our micro biology really is the least stupid thing about alien invasion stories. The most stupid thing is having those invasions in the first place. Just terraform Venus, fix the toxic atmosphere and you have basically a blank Earth 2.0. And if your goal as an Alien species is to just wipe out humanity, just do orbital bombardments from space. Even just redirecting large asteroids can achieve that. Then you also don't have to bother studying the planetary micro biology.

[@TheGoowolf]

@@LegioXXI true. But if you're an alien species whose weakness is water and you see a planet that looks like it has a lot of water on it, it's still a bad idea to try to invade it. LOL

[@thecunninlynguist]

It's cool seeing the set at Universal Hollywood. For one Halloween horror nights we were able to actually get off the tram and walk around the plane

[@justicefool3942]

If you go on the VIP tour, you can walk around the set as well.

[@thecunninlynguist]

​@@justicefool3942I've been meaning to try the vip tour. Have you gone? Is it worth it? Is the lunch/brunch good?

[@thecunninlynguist]

@@justicefool3942 I've been meaning to go on that tour. Is it worth it? Is the brunch/lunch any good?

[@justicefool3942]

@@thecunninlynguist I think it's worth it. You get breakfast and lunch, the expanded backlot tour and express passes for all the rides. If you get all that individually, it would probably run close to the same price as the VIP ticket anyway, so it's worth doing at least once.

[@darkstarmoonshadow8892]

WOW your lucky; being on the set of a movie, a Steven Spielberg movie at that. 😲

[@skyrogue1977]

If I could make a suggestion. I think a Recess Schools Out review would be a good idea. Both to commemorate Summer and also Dabney Coleman.

[@spinlok3943]

The sounds the tripods make is SO FRIGGIN SCARY. Love it so much.

[@metaloverlord7465]

"Not a TON more but about enough to get a twenty minute review out of" Dialogue like this is why I still love Doug even after all these years. That perfect blend of self awareness and honesty.

[@BugsyFoga]

Cool to see Doug finally cover this one

[@SpexGuy1118]

So fun story that ties I have to this movie: Back in 7th Grade (2008), my English teacher had a mini-library where you could take a book to read when there's downtime after a Test or if she didn't have anything to teach that day. (Yeah, some days she didn't feel like teaching) And one of the books was the screenplay for this movie. I saw the movie the day it got released with my Grandfather; so I had vivid memories of what was in the movie. One example the TV in the movie is showing SpongeBob, but it the screenplay; it notes The PowerPuff Girls. I never read a screenplay before, only those theatre plays you got in a collection of other acquired reading books. So this was such an eye opener. I visioned the movie how it would be like if I shot it or made it. And it also helped me with my writing. So much so when it came to the end of the year, I asked my teacher if I could have it? Since it meant so much to me. Her response: "No. Put it back." So I went to the mini-library and placed the book in my backpack and left. I still have the book to this day. Worth also noting when this movie came on HBO MAX, I decided to watch it again for the first time. With all the ideas a vision I had with the screenplay, I felt like seeing a screenplay to screen would look... and this movie sucks now because it's not as good as I visioned it with the screenplay. So, fun little story.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

Hehe, middle school

[@giuseppeianniello1998]

2005 was truly Tom Cruise’s year. Marrying Katie Holmes, stating that psychiatry is evil, going bat-s**t insane on Oprah, having a war with a 60 Minutes interviewer, etc.

[@jasonvaughn4886]

One of the stupidest scenes in any Hollywood film EVER (technically that includes Troll 2) is when they wake up the next morning and get out of the basement to find a crashed 747 on the driveway some 100 feet from where they spent the night !!! There's no way in hell anyone could SURVIVE something like that, let alone sleep through it !!!

[@JOSH-lw2jv]

Fun Fact: Steven Spielberg reunited with one of his actors from *"JAWS"* (1975) in the 2005 remake of *"War of the* *Worlds";* and that was Jonathan Filley who played Tom Cassidy, the "luckiest drunk" boyfriend of Chrissie Watkins. However, Jonathan never acted after *"JAWS"* and he's credited in this film as New York's Unit Production Manager.

[@anubusx]

RIP

[@JOSH-lw2jv]

@@anubusx No, he's still alive.

[@anubusx]

@@JOSH-lw2jv The actress who played Chrissie.

[@JOSH-lw2jv]

@@anubusx Darn. I just looked it up.

[@bryanheilman4376]

I love this movie more than the original, and I loved the original! Tom Cruise was terrific!

[@kdusel1991]

Never saw the original but this one is pretty good!

[@xBloodxFangx]

I love this movie a lot too. I saw it as a teenager and thought it was scary. My mom then (of course) said the original was much scarier. I saw it and thought it was more silly and weird but that at least led me to reading the book which I liked a lot.

[@Schnaps1990]

Tripod crawling out scene is amazing especially when it dumps soil from horn holes and make this creepy inception sound for the first time. Bridge explosion scene with gas trucks falling on houses was also one of the most memorable action scene i watched in childhood. What movie is really missed is that stating aliens attacked earth because of envy of our emotions it fails to show that emotionality through main characters except few small scenes of empathy

[@linksbro1]

I feel the thing with Robbie's character is that it's alluding to WHY Spielberg remade War of the Worlds to begin with. The post 9/11 climate. There's a few lines that make it very obvious, like after Robbie asks "WHO'S ATTACKING US?" and Rachel then asks "IS IT THE TERRORISTS?" He's a young man reacting to seeing not just his country, but his WORLD attacked. And like many directionless young men faced with a crisis, his reaction is that he must fight.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: Due to Steven Spielberg's last minute post-production work, he had to drop out of a scheduled appearance with Tom Cruise to promote the film on The Oprah Winfrey Show. This was the episode of Cruise's highly publicized "couch jumping" incident.

[@jonathanbirch2022]

Dang, that was at the same time of his disastrous Matt Lauer interview.

[@Ellthom]

I will die on the hill that the best adaptation of War of the Worlds is the Jeff Waynes musical.

[@patrickhayden7206]

Ooooh lahhhh

[@SithBunny1]

TWRP did a beautiful cover of one of the songs from that musical! Thank goodness it's not as obscure as I thought.

[@josephcalamia5586]

One of the cool things about the live show of the Jeff Wayne musical was that at a certain point, a tripod would descend down and take a place among the orchestra and cast and would interact with the story.

[@matthewhecht9257]

Independence Day is the best adaptation.

[@cherzo71]

@@matthewhecht9257 Independence Day is complete trash

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

3 takes: 1) Real fans of the original should have no qualms about the ending of the 2005 remake. Both were anticlimactic... 1955: They couldn't handle our atmosphere. 2005: SAME! 2) The 2005 remake gave us the nice cameo by the original 2 lead actors from the 1955 classic, shot in Brooklyn Heights, no less. 3) Love, love, loooooove that post 9/11 realism of the lady turning into dust, the destruction of the Bayonne Bridge being praised by real world engineers for its accuracy, and the near-perfect CGI ride-along sequence of being inside the family van and outside of it immediately after shit hits the fan!❤

[@mauricionascimento9662]

It's not the atmosphere they can't handle, it's the microorganisms, which makes perfect sense, since they wouldn't know to be vacinated against stuff they never had any contact with.

[@LordHayabusa85]

14:45 I remember when I first saw this movie, I was 11 years old. When it got to this blood fertilizer scene, I got so scared that I couldn’t stop shaking. So my dad beckoned me over to him & held me close to comfort me.

[@Kurisutofaa89]

I had read the book before seeing those movie in theaters and I must say the ending was actually the best part! One of the few things that was actually in the book.

[@matityaloran9157]

I’m with you

[@EliasValadez-pu1iq]

The only thing I didn’t like was the son coming back out of nowhere.

[@matthewmuir8884]

As someone who also read the book, I understand, but in the book, it was built up to with the protagonist observing the aliens' anatomy and how they were turning captured humans into an intravenous food source, so it didn't come out of nowhere. It also reflected how the central message of the book was a condemnation of colonial imperialism: the aliens dying from mundane disease reflected how soldiers of the British Empire frequently died from diseases. The movie abandoned the anti-imperialism aspect of the story, making the ending come all the more out of nowhere.

[@katherined]

Check out Jeff Wayne's war of the worlds, it is pretty good audio experience

[@117darksonic]

Yes it's the best version

[@plucas1]

Aside from th 1953 movie version, the best adaptation of the story was actually Jeff Wayne's 1978 rock album based on War of the Worlds. It's awesomely paced and told with spot-on music. It even has Richard Burton narrating. How can you beat that?

[@danteastral9665]

8:05 Bummer that he didn't mention that the entire location was 100% practical. And that the set is still there today and can be seen at Universal studio tour. Personally it was a moment where my mind was blown that this was all made for one scene and it paid off completely.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: Steven Spielberg said after the shooting that he would never make a film with Tom Cruise again. Reasons given for this were Cruise' behavior on set related to his involvement with the controversial Church of Scientology (Cruise was rumored to have tried to convert Spielberg), and especially his erratic performance on Oprah Winfrey's Episode dated 23 May 2005, which Spielberg felt was hurting the movie. The rift was further said to be caused by Scientology's well-known opposition to psychiatry (which reportedly comes from its founder L. Ron Hubbard, after several psychiatrists had rejected his spiritual healing theories and suggested that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia): Spielberg was unhappy with Cruise' repeated rants against the use of Ritalin in children with ADD, and was especially angered when a psychiatrist friend of his was harassed by Scientologists, after he had mentioned the doctor's name in Cruise' presence. However, they seemed to have made amends by 2023, when a clip was released of both men hugging, and Spielberg praising Cruise for saving the movie industry after the COVID-19 pandemic with Top Gun: Maverick.

[@manospondylus4896]

Cruise has some audcaity trying to convert the Jewish man that directed Schindler‘s List to his own religion.

[@drpseudo]

Back in the day I also figured about the ending: how could a so advanced culture not be aware of bacterial/prokaryotic lifeforms? For colonialists in our history it makes sense, but in this scenario, where it seems that they observed multiple evolutionary cycles on different planets... it felt utterly unprepared of them. Although I found the core of the message cool I also did not think it made any sense

[@jacksykes4680]

I know it’s a very old story but I forever love the fact that when Orson Welles did a reading of the book live on radio it was so convincing that people believed it was real

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: After her actions in the film, Dakota Fanning's character was voted 'most useless thing to have in an apocalypse' by MTV

[@CTladiesman]

That’s just stupid because she’s just a little girl witnessing an alien invasion happening around her.

[@liamdude5722]

The son is arguably more useless

[@CTladiesman]

@@liamdude5722 why because you want to join the army and fight back against the aliens?

[@Cabamacadaf]

What did they expect a child to do in an apocalypse?

[@CTladiesman]

@@Cabamacadaf ikr! It’s like the people that complain about her are democrats or liberals that a VERY insensitive and ignorant towards a child’s feelings. Idiots!!

[@Ayden_B]

My take: the best version of The War of the Worlds is the Jeff Wayne concept album from 1975. Perfectly captures every aspect of the story through music and narration alone

[@drakocarrion]

The only War of the Worlds that matters is Jeff Wayne's musical version. It's honestly amazing that despite how long that stage musical has been running it still hasn't been made into a movie

[@user-nm2xw6dv2z]

You have good taste

[@Caprioly]

Yep. Thunder Child all the way!

[@theshenpartei]

Yes

[@questworldiangreenknight7455]

That’s a thing?!?!

[@user-nm2xw6dv2z]

@questworldiangreenknight7455 yes its awesome it's on spitofy, do the original version, not the modern one. The original is a lot better and has great songs like forever autumn and thunder child

[@northnick3317]

I love how Robbie runs after the army the same way a three year old would run towards a moving ice cream truck. I laughed hard at his fake out death XD

[@ConaRikan2]

My first introduction to War of the Worlds was listening to the radio music play. Honestly, I think the worst thing any of the movie adaptations could do would be to show what the aliens actually look like. Because they aren't the focus of the story. It's the examination of the various ways humanity would react to such an extreme paradigm shift, that we aren't alone in the universe and could be destroyed by these beings, that makes the story so powerful.

[@deshawnedwards6412]

Review Megamind please.

[@Mildlyinsanespinelfanboy]

Review the Steven Universe movie

[@tad7441]

It would be good to see why it had such a big following and also good timing given how the reception of the sequel went.

[@superbowsersilva]

Small fact-2:47 most of the filming place in Bayonne, New Jersey the alien destroying the Bridge is the Bayonne bridge.

[@thomasferraro479]

And Staten Island on the other side of the bridge, where I'm from

[@XenoSpyro]

"Look at the damn birds!" and "The javelin is the key!" is a pretty hype moment in my opinion. It's not a long payoff, but it's a pretty satisfying moment.

[@ShenDoodles]

My biggest nitpick with the movie is that for some reason the crazy basement guy says “There’s no war between men and maggots!”, a misquote of the book’s “There’s no war between men and ants!”

[@Markimark151]

It’s about time the critic is reviewing this War of the Worlds movie, this is one lot of people have requested for over a decade!

[@DarkEclipse23]

Moreso an old v New. But your point still stands. 😂

[@kdusel1991]

​@@DarkEclipse23 I miss old vs new! He should do more of those! I also miss the editorials too!

[@Markimark151]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@DarkEclipse23I think doing an old vs new was just too hard for Doug to compare. That format didn’t work for lot of remakes, it’s better to just review one movie at a time!

[@DarkEclipse23]

@@Markimark151it was. He mentioned it in an old “top 11 fuck ups” vid that he couldn’t write anything good when comparing them as both were pretty weak in his opinion.

[@DarkEclipse23]

@@kdusel1991same! I haven’t really seen an old v new from him since the Spider-man movies of Tobey V Andrew, or Willy Wonka vs Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

[@thecrazycapn]

Something Tom Cruise does extremely well? He makes a family argument feel legitimately awkward to be around. It's good! You ever third wheel around another family having a real argument? Tom Cruise really captures how uncomfortable it is.

[@lightsabermetrics]

Im surprised you didn't touch on the infamously rushed production schedule. Spielberg filmed all the major action sequences first and all the smaller scenes later so the film was ready for its June 2005 release date. The rushed production was probably why the finished product was so muddled.

[@matthewroth9196]

I’m glad you mentioned rushed productions and Steven Spielberg because Spielberg’s other 2005 movie Munich was a rushed production too. Literally, Spielberg got to work on Munich the day this movie premiered, principal photography ended by September and the movie came out in December. So Munich’s production time to release date was all in 6 months.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: The convoy scene military vehicles were real and still had their white greasepencil convoy markings (data similar to license tag info) chalked on the driver's side doors. Either speed or special-effects rendered these markings invisible in the final cuts.

[@newmedia2862]

"DOOOOOOOD! I thought you weren't gonna cover this since you said you won't do an Old Vs New and said you didn't really like either film!" -Douchy McNitpick

[@elder-woodsilverstein7716]

I miss Douchy.

[@kdusel1991]

​@@elder-woodsilverstein7716 he stopped doing douchey cause it hurt his vocal cords. But I miss him too!

[@ZemeckisTEN]

@@kdusel1991Really? I thought he stopped playing that character because he absolutely despised him.

[@johnnysparkle]

Besides Douchey is in the Plot Hole

[@newmedia2862]

@@johnnysparkle we do not speak of To Boldly Flee

[@CitizenKahne1992]

“HERE WE ARE! PISMO BEACH AND ALL THE CLAMS WE CAN EAT!” I will never not love a Bugs Bunny quote. 😂

[@philokrnotch387]

4:58 One of the ideas I got from this story was these characters don't know anything about each other. The audience is thrown into the story as it they are. We learn with images that Dad is into cars, builds engines, works a lot. Daughter absorbs information and is probably autistic. Son is all over the place. He hates his dad and mom, driven by things he doesn't understand. Doesn't know his kids. The kids don't know him. But they have to trust this guy. And this guy needs to get it done. Besides given the time this came out. We didn't actually know if anyone else was going to make it, save Ray.

[@retepoteil]

The 53 movie special effects still look pretty good

[@SkunkMantraTechnoSkunk]

Everytime i watch it great film. i try to stare my eyes away from the strings you can see on some shots xd

[@lars7282]

12:20 It makes sense considering the 9/11 aftermath at the time. Lindsay Ellis made a great video about this movie within that context

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

7:48 great little joke on Orson Welles infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast that sent an entire nation into panic. Btw, it helped Welles secure a contract with RKO and eventually make Citizen Kane.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: Early in the movie when Robbie and Rachel are watching TV in Ray's house and Rachel is channel surfing, the train crash scene from the 1952 movie "The Greatest Show On Earth" is briefly seen. "The Greatest Show On Earth" was the first movie Steven Spielberg ever saw and it inspired him to want to go into a motion picture career.

[@ryanlesica9232]

Everyone rips on Robbie, but it’s Dakota Fanning I can’t stand in this. She just whines and screams the ENTIRE movie!

[@dolphincrescent54]

2011 Doug: I'm not gonna review either of the War of the Worlds film 2024 Doug: A War of the World film review Don't worry Doug, I remembered it so you don't have to! Also, PLEASE review Megamind Vs. The Doom Syndicate and Mondo TV's 2010 Fantasy Island Animated Series.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: The organism seen in the opening sequence is known as a paramecium, being a unicellular pond water protozoan that is a eukaryote, shown complete with cilia, oral groove, macro nucleus and central vacuole.

[@CrypticCharm]

War of the Worlds, has been remade so many times...nothing can top the Olson Welles Adaptation...that led to widespread panic. class moment, but this version. actually not that bad, there was a recent version in the UK that was a mini-series, and hated

[@TabathaTMartin]

Orson Welles, and it's true. I love both the radio and this movie, despite having its flaws

[@CrypticCharm]

@@TabathaTMartin me too, i heard the radio show, a while back, it's on youtube and since the book came out 37 years earlier, there since it's Science Fiction, a good chance that many people had never heard of the book, and couldn't make the comparison. even though the outrage and panic, wasn't as extreme as was rumoured, you can see how many could have taken it as fact, especially if they missed the beginning. What Welles did was genius, but changing the European cities for USA ones, making the danger feel closer to home, and bringing in the audience. it was true genius, turning a book, into a broadcast for radio.

[@TabathaTMartin]

@@CrypticCharm agreed

[@StillTheVoid]

So are we gonna just forget about the scene where Tom Cruise sings that dreadful lullaby to Dakota Fanning? Yes...yes we can! 😌 But in all seriousness, I saw this film opening night...and damn...what a DRAG! Since A.i. (2001), this was the moment where I believed Spielberg lost his blockbuster magic we had come to endear and idolized after the 20 years of massive accomplishments he built for the industry. Even Janusz Kamiński's photography looked like DOGSHIT 💩with its over-usage of lens flare and overexposed lighting. Being that its a 2005 film, this was the emergence of the shaky cam phenomenon of the 2000s which DOES NOT work in this film. Along with George Lucas, this was the beginning of the end for our favorite leading directors as their techniques and storytelling began to feel stale and ancient. FUCK THIS MOVIE! 😤

[@ShadyDoorags]

Always loved this movie. Always hated Robbie.

[@Tsupek]

16:42 cmon Blow-Ku shoot some farts from your hands and beat the aliens

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: Tom Cruise is in a minivan in both War of the Worlds and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back that in is the same make, model, color and even has the same faux wood paneling.

[@wattsink2009]

Based on what I’ve seen in this review, this movie feels like it was unfinished. 🤨 It’s like they started making the movie by hitting all the key moments from the original story, starting injecting a few new ideas, then ran out of time and/or money before they could think of a way to have it amount to something, looked over what they had so far, and then said, “meh, good enough.”

[@xBloodxFangx]

fun little detail is the Grandparents are actually the actors from the original movie.

[@Gardetrace]

The issue with the movie isn't how anticlimactically the aliens died to the Common Cold, the issue is Ray has no resolution to his character arc. He's a guy who barely cares for his children and only sees them due to obligation. During his time with the kids, an alien invasion causes all hell to break loose, so he is forced to be a responsible parent for once in his life. However, this development falls flat on it's face due to Robbie. Robbie was initially shown to be someone who takes care of his younger sister, and the moment where she yells "who would take care of me if you go?" to him really highlights how much she looks up to her big brother and how little confidence she has in her father to take care of her. It's not some random moment of her going "I'm mad too!," it makes perfect sense that she would react this way for Robbie trying to do something so reckless. Then, at the moment where Robbie runs off to try to join the military and Ray stops him, this should have been the moment where Ray puts his foot down and starts acting like a goddamn father in order to save his dumbass son. Robbie is just mad that he's a weak little dipshit whose powerless in the face of this alien invasion, so he tries to do something as stupid as be where the action is in order to compensate for his powerlessness. Apparently, he forgot about his little sister, Rachel. He wants so badly to go with the military that he'll potentially get himself killed and leave her with only their neglectful father to take care of her. It doesn't add up with how he was characterized earlier in the film where he was the one who comforted Rachel while Ray was losing his patience with her and even told her to shut up. Then Robbie tells his father that he needs to let him go, and Ray ultimately lets Robbie go straight into danger where he is seemingly incinerated in a huge fireball, and that would be entirely due to Ray's incompetence as a father. But at the end, Robbie is perfectly fine and somehow made it to his mother's house in Boston, which feels like a huge cheat. How the hell did he survive on his own for all that time and make it to Boston? Not only did Ray fail to be a responsible father, not only was Robbie suddenly written to be a complete dipshit and run straight into danger, but everything just works out in the end despite how unbelievable it all is. It would have actually been better if Robbie died as it would have given consequences to Ray's incompetence, but Ray simply should have developed into a responsibe father and actually bonded with his children in order to complete his character arc. The alien invasion itself isn't the point of this movie, it's more of a background event than anything else. But since Ray's character development fizzles out, this movie has nothing else but the spectacle, so once the aliens catch a Cold and die, there's nothing else to care about. Therefore, the ending sucks. However, the movie was already sucking as soon as Robbie left and Tim Robbins' character appeared.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Hello guys! You always make My day! Today has been tough and this is great!

[@Veirdjil]

My favorite moment in this film is main character getting grenades into alien ship. He gets sucked in, everyone is trying to help him and he spills out grenades rings. I like soldier facial expressions "no, you did not"

[@Happymali10]

6:35 I REALLY recommend watching the making of. An absurd amount of the chaos and destruction during the initial attack was done in-camera.

[@Nasser851000]

I got sidetracked thinking it was gonna be Mission Impossible or The Mummy 😁

[@LucyLioness100]

He already did the Mummy with AVGN a few years back

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: In the scene where the tripod first emerges from the ground, a street sign in the background says "Van Buren." Sylvia Van Buren was a main character in the 1953 film.

[@himvalo666]

Years ago I saw a breakdown as to why this movie failed but ID4 was a success despite being full of disaster and death. A good point was brought up: this movie was 4 years after 9/11 and everyone remembers the imagery of people covered in dust post attack and dead bodies. It was asserted that this movie was "too soon" for some of the imagery

[@mitra2830]

I just remember the scene from scary movie 4 Robbie: Dad, talk to me! What's happening? Tom Ryan: There's no time to explain. [a man runs past the window, screaming] 'Alien Attack!': Alien attack! Tom Ryan: Well, actually, that about sums it up.

[@liambishop496]

Fun fact: The aliens in this movie had vocal effects provided by Dee Bradley Baker. The same guy who voices Klaus on American Dad and Squilliam on Spongebob did the vocal effects for these aliens.

[@schattentaenzerin]

Every apocalypse needs a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal of action! Of course Agent P would show up.

[@aboxinspace]

The same guy who voices every Star Wars clone?? Nice

[@firelightyear]

And Numbuh 4 from KND.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: A segment of a scene early in the film, in which people are seen fleeing from a tripod (panic-stricken crowd running along a street while buildings are being destroyed by a tripod in the background), recreates the subject-matter of the painting "Panic in the Streets" by Geoff Taylor, a print of which was included in the booklet accompanying the 1978 release of "Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds".

[@rogue7723]

10:25 I _know_ this is supposed to show how the invasion has made everyone so frightened and desperate to the point of uncivility, but when I saw that I was just thinking _“Uh-oh_ George parked in a _handicap_ spot again.”

[@FlipsGTS]

The first attack and the car escape are so underated, the cameraperspective is amazing and well done. Also the horn sound from the tripods HAS to be one if the best Sounds designed in the past decades…

[@georgeeastwood6930]

Dakota Fanning hiding from threatening aliens? I’m surprised you didn’t have any “Coraline” jokes, or reference a character she also encountered in the 2000’s to be even scarier than the Other Mother… the Cat from “The Cat In The Hat”!! 😫

[@DimitarKolarov-hy2ex]

2:27 Happy 25th Anniversary, SpongeBob

[@cassienunes2173]

I love that you're covering this on my break where i work at Universal studios at the studio tour where we have the real plane cut up for show!

[@RyanPainter]

I'm a little disappointed that the critic didn't talk about the orson welles or jeff wayne versions. Because those versions were more faithful to the book and far more interesting.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: Steven Spielberg owns one of the last copies of the Orson Welles radio script, which he purchased at an auction. Spielberg wanted to make the film years ago, but decided against it when Independence Day was released. However, he wanted to work with Tom Cruise again after Minority Report, and when an adaptation of Hampton Sides' book 'Ghost Soldiers' fell through (it was already filmed as The Great Raid), they picked War of the Worlds (2005) as their next project.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: At the beginning of the film, in the news broadcast about the apocalyptic lightning strike in the Ukraine, one of the images flashed on the screen is from the climactic train wreck in Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Greatest Show on Earth".

[@DSan-kl2yc]

The problem with the ending is him defeating the thing takes away from the reality, and the real ending. They aren't invincible anymore. Now a random dude just destroyed something the military couldn't. So the ending isn't poignant. But the stuff with the kid is bad. So is the family set up, and tom cruise being a "normal" guy. This is when hiring some lower fame, non blockbuster actors would have worked. I read the book in HS and while i don't remember much, I remember this movie didn't give me that feeling when i saw it. That it didn't capture it.

[@GoGojiraGo]

The plane crash set was part of Universal Studios Hollywood for a while after the movie came out as part of the tram tour ride. I got to see it twice, once with family and once with my university class. It looked amazing and pretty chilling. The drivers both told the story of a pilot who flew over the wreckage and reported that a plane had crashed in the early days of it being there.

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

Another Fun Fact: In 2005, the plane crash set was featured in Universal Studios Hollywood's public Studio Tour. The wreckage was located only a few feet from the infamous Psycho (1960) house and Bates Motel sets.

[@lShadowdark]

Dude, again? Stop with your BS Spam, just post all in one comment

[@AdamSmith75th]

I’m loving all these fun facts!

[@schattentaenzerin]

No need to copy and paste every single imbd thing individually. Pick your top five and stop flooding the comment section like that.

[@iplaywhatiwant3738]

It's a popcorn film. It's not demanding to be taken terribly seriously. Ripping this movie apart is like ripping apart Brandon Frazier's Mummy; it doesn't work because it's in on the joke.

[@ChakatStripedfur]

*Brendon Fraser. And The Mummy works because it's _supposed_ to be that way. Kinda campy but fun, in a way that only Brendon Fraser can pull off. War of the Worlds is supposed to be serious, but just ended up being seriously stupid and pointless. Just like every movie Tom Cruise is in.