War of the Worlds (2005) -vs- Independence Day (1996)
It's a good thing I'm not comparing this film with Signs, M. Night Shymalan's alien invasion film, because that would be no contest. M. Night (what do his friends call him? M?) made a film that came down to a guy slugging a man in an alien suit with a baseball bat. Some people saw a lot of meaning in that film but I was left really peeved.
But War of the Worlds versus Independence Day, that's a fair fight. Tom Cruise versus Will Smith, that's a battle, too.
Same basic premise. The bad aliens have been scoping us out for a long time and, as the films begin, so does the carnage. And, in both cases, it's world-ending apocalyptic carnage. Tone is everything. In "Independence Day," the President of the United States gets to fly jets at alien space ships. In "War of the Worlds", it's all told from the point-of-view of a New Jersey heavy equipment operator and his kids.
In this world (in these worlds?), tone is everything. I've written my share of alien invasion stuff over the years from the NBC series Dark Skies to the Sci-Fi Channel movie "Official Denial" to working for six months on the "Taken" mini-series. And while "Dark Skies" positing that JFK was whacked because he was going to tell the truth about UFOs doesn't exactly qualify as initially plausible, it was told with a realistic style. That's my preference.
So... there's not a moment where we actually think Will Smith or his loved ones are going to get snuffed but there are several where you think Tom Cruise and his are on the hairy edge of existence. In Independence Day, I slapped my head that Will's woman worries about going to work as a stripper even as a huge 15-mile long spaceship hovers over Los Angeles. In War of the Worlds, I held my breath and felt terrible for Cruise's daughter, played by Dakota Fanning, knowing how scared she was.
War of the Worlds. Because I actually cared for these people instead of seeing them as characters in a summer blockbuster. And, yet, it is the blockbuster movie of the summer anyway.
Recent Comments