What could have been

[FALLINGSTAR]

wastedyuthe said:

To Lensman- "I'm preparing myself to forgive you" (Monty, Withnail and I, 1987)

"The only person living this film is Tom Cruise as he has to take over the story so the film's mainly about him"

Erm, isn't that the point? To follow an every-man on his journey of protecting his family through an alien invasion.

Well that's the point of this film yes - to follow an overpaid mediocre action star who's more famous for his off screen antics than his acting ability [ and it's not just his off screen antics that are stupid - he just plays himself in every movie cos that's the only acting he can do ].

I wanted a serious WOTW film - not Mr EGO of Hollywood posing in front of the camera in TOM of the WORLDS .

[Wastedyuthe]

Well, we are kinda going over old ground again, but you are entitled to your opinion of course.

[Wastedyuthe]

To those that didn't like the film as it is now, have you ever seen this version-

thepiratebay.org/tor/3505147/WAR_OF_THE_WORLDS.the_extinctive_cut.CBB.DVD

This is a LEGAL bit torrent download, and is a creation of someone who didn't like Spielbergs cut, so they made their own. They deleted scenes that they didn't like (mostly Tim Robbins), and added clips using other film footage from Deep Impact, T3 etc. Download it, and watch it. This is by far the worse version out of the two imo. It just seems lifeless and without a point. Perhaps Spielbergs edit isn't as bad as all that after all.

[Methos]

The fact that the original book was centered almost entirely around one man makes it almost impossible to make a movie that’s not focused on a central character. If it had been Tom Hanks, instead of Tom Cruise, people would have said the same thing just like they did with “Cast Away”. Some stories just can’t get around the one-man focus.

Besides, we all know that Dakota stole Tom’s thunder...

[Wastedyuthe]

methos said:

The fact that the original book was centered almost entirely around one man makes it almost impossible to make a movie that’s not focused on a central character. If it had been Tom Hanks, instead of Tom Cruise, people would have said the same thing just like they did with “Cast Away”. Some stories just can’t get around the one-man focus.

Besides, we all know that Dakota stole Tom’s thunder...

I agree about the one man thing- that's kind of what I was trying to say too. But I disagree about Dakota- she was great (her screaming was realistic, not annoying to me), but the film belonged to them both imo. Like I said- the lullaby scene was a good one for the Cruiser.

[Methos]

Dakota and Tom work well together. I loved the scene where they both hid under the table, and the look Dakota gave Tom when they first made it to the ground, after the cage, was a classic!

[killraven]

asheraven said:

Yep, Dakota Fanning outscreamed everyone

KR

[rusti]

DF (thats Dacota Fanning and not David (i cant pronounce his name at the moment) had to have been the most irritating kid on screen since the Jurassic park kids.

[Wastedyuthe]

It's odd isn't it, that some find her the most irritating and loudest little brat ever- and some think she was excellent and stole the show. Go figure!

[killraven]

wastedyuthe said:

It's odd isn't it, that some find her the most irritating and loudest little brat ever- and some think she was excellent and stole the show. Go figure!

Might be the difference between having and not having a ten year old daughter of one's own at home??? (I don't, by the way )

KR

[Ashe Raven]

I do

Believe me, Dakota is more mature than her years

[Methos]

My daughter isn’t ten years old yet but I suppose it makes a difference.

[Lensman]

wastedyuthe said:

This is a LEGAL bit torrent download

Not unless whoever posted it to the Internet had the express permission of all the film makers, including Paramount and whoever made "Deep Impact".

There's a great deal of misinformation about copyright on the internet. The article "10 Big Myths about copyright explained" should be read by everyone.

www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
.

[almichev]

I watched the filim again for the first time since seeing it in the cinema. I certainly enjoyed it more this time, and wanted to know what my gf thought of it as she hadn't seen it and doesn't know much about the book. One thing we both agreed on was "show us what's over the hill!" ;-) And also the camelot seen in the extras.

Spielberg is a great film-maker but i would have liked someone different to tackle wotw. It's the mother of all invasion stories and should be treated as so - ie, it should put all other invasion movies in their place. Spielberg made the film too much about people (hollywood has a habit of doing this sometimes - like Godzilla for example). You can have a film with horror and action blended with developed characters you care about or empathise with. Spielberg's done it before.

The homages (i got fed up of hearing that word in the documentaries) to the 50's movie distract from the film for me. Spielberg talks about setting the scene as being "hyperreal", then the first view of the aliens is a take from the 50's film. Instead of packing the film with homages why don't they just make as an original film as possible.

So I have mixed feelings still. And just hope that one day someone makes a top notch faithful version.

[Wastedyuthe]

Fair comments Almichev. I wasn't too bothered about the 'homages' either. I find them distracting in any film. CG films like Shrek 2 etc are the worst for them.