War of the Worlds (2005) Retrospective/Review - Spielberg Sci-Fi, Part 5

In 2005 War of the Worlds was released to critical and commercial success, but a mixed reception from audiences. The film was the second collaboration between Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise. Their first collaboration, Minority Report had been a great success, but did lightening strike twice for War of the Worlds?

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00:00 Intro
00:28 Development
02:07 Casting
04:47 Production
08:27 War of the Worlds (2005)
14:41 Release and Reception
15:02 Spielberg's Legacy
16:44 Outro

#stevenspielberg #tomcruise #rowanjcoleman

[lukebaxter]

That part in the end about Spielberg just hits me so much. He's my all time favourite director, to the point that no matter what his next film is, I feel like I have to watch it. A lot of his films are among my favourites of all time, including the likes of Minority Report and West Side Story.

I don't think anyone can top him in terms of quality and impact on pop culture and cinema. It'll be the saddest day of my life whenever he passes away.

[psychorabbitt]

It certainly is an interesting twist to the "humanity saves the Earth from invaders trope." Instead - Earth saved humanity.

[silverkraid]

As flawed as this movie was I can't deny that I have never been able to get it out of my head since I first saw it in 2005. For all it's issues it had a profound effect on me and might be one of the best distillations of how people in America felt post 9/11.

[californiumblog]

My abiding memory of WotW is two hours of almost non-stop shrieking from Dakota Fanning and it giving me a headache.

[AWMJoeyjoejoe]

Great film, but I really find the Robbie character insufferable.

[CalebThomasMedia]

I’ve always seen this movie as a 9/11 metaphor. The horror, dread, and feeling that there is nothing remaining but trauma to deal with felt so familiar in 2005. Even the big brother meaninglessly wandering off into war felt familiar. To me, this movie perfectly captured what it felt like to be an American after 9/11.

[politesse]

I have really been enjoying this series, I'm sorry the Algorithm hasn't been! Your insight, and wide-ranging approach to capturing the social moment of a film are always remarkable to me.

[emeraldknight]

Thank you for this entire retrospective on Spielberg’s sci-fi career. You’ve really put to words a lot of what I’ve felt growing up watching his films with my family and when I watch them when I’m older.

[newdefsys]

"A movie I admire more than I like". That pretty much nails this movie down in the fewest possible words.

[AshPrimeDCFC]

Great film and was very excited when it came out. I've read the book, listened to the radio show, watched the 50s film and 80s show, listened to the musical and seen it performed live. I'm quite the fan!

[cpa]

Long shot, but I would love to see you bring your Retrospective/Review series to the Alien franchise. It's really got everything a video essayist could want: timeless classics whose every onscreen detail is fascinating, hot messes whose every behind-the-scenes detail is fascinating, some genuinely bad movies, and a couple underrated/overhated gems that could use the ol' Rowan J Coleman second analysis.

[ManOutofTime]

My favorite rendition of War of the Worlds is probably the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen arc where the tripod aliens were at war with John Carter and escaped to Earth because they were losing. Also, they get taken out by Mr. Hyde quoting Will Smith in Independence Day. That series was wild.

[DonaldPriceIII]

Spielberg stayed true to the book, the ending always leaves me with the impression that humanity s greatest victory is it's survival. Maybe that's not cinematic victory but what really is?

[theebronks]

I think one thing that can't be emphasized enough, for better or worse, is this film coming out after 9/11. It shaped a lot of the character responses within the movie as well as the audience reactions to it.

[ProfessorTravis]

To me the end argument for Spielberg's brilliance is simply watching the modern extremely expensive Jurassic Park movies, then watching the original that's about 3 decades old now. Somehow, the original still looks better. The industry can't really criticize Spielberg, then try to stand on his shoulders while falling completely beneath his feet in the process.

[rafale]

War of the Worlds is one of the first “remakes” i remember watching after i had seen the original on tv a long time ago. I loved the horror take and it remains one of my favorite remakes to this day

[dukestt]

I did not like this film when it first came out until I realised, "Ray's just this guy, you know!"

[LegIIAVGCA]

I really liked the movie and followed the book fairly well! The Red Vines and feeding off humans. One part they could have expanded on is the boat scene. In the book, as they on a ferry, a tripod attacks but out of the mist comes a naval charging a WW1 destroyer/cruiser guns blazing but gets hit with a heat ray but still runs into and crushes Marian tripod but the ship is destroyed. Would be great if they did that! The crying of the pods at the end is in the book also….

[DaveNarn]

All I remember about seeing this movie was Dakota Fanning's non-stop ear splittiing screaming throughout the entire movie

[sfkeepay]

This has to be one of your very best essays. Along with a compelling, nuanced discussion of the film, and an insightful final verdict as to its character, you manages to convey Spielberg’s importance as a film maker beautifully. Great job.