War of the Worlds (2005)

In this modern retelling of H.G. Wells' sci-fi classic, civilization is laid to ruin when a race of super aliens invades Earth.

Director:

David Michael Latt

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel), David Michael Latt,

Stars:

C. Thomas Howell, Rhett Giles, Andrew Lauer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
C. Thomas Howell	...	George Herbert
Rhett Giles	...	Pastor Victor
Andrew Lauer	...	Sgt. Kerry Williams (as Andy Lauer)
Tinarie van Wyk Loots	...	Felicity Herbert
Jake Busey	...	Lt. Samuelson (as William Busey)
Dashiell Howell	...	Alex Herbert (as Dash Howell)
Peter Greene	...	Matt Herbert
Kim Little	...	Rebecca
Edward DeRuiter	...	Max (as Ed Deruiter)
Meredith Laine	...	Audrey
Matthew Jaeger	...	Jared
Cayman Mitchell	...	Jake
Luis de Amechazurra	...	Bill
Gary Robbins	...	Jules
Berna Roberts	...	Elaine (as Bernadette Perez)

Storyline

The story tells of a man named George Herbert who is separated from his wife and child when a Martian invasion begins. He tries to make his way to Washington, D.C. to reunite with them as the world is torn apart. But civilization is laid to ruin when a race of super aliens ultimately invades Earth!

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Plot Keywords:

alien | comet | search for family | alien invasion | loss of faith | 

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Taglines:

The Invasion Has Already Begun.

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore, language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asylum, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title character's name, George Herbert, is an homage to H.G. Wells, who wrote the original novel. The "H.G." stands for "Herbert George".

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Goofs

The army sgt is wearing Marine Corps sergeant chevrons and there is no unit patch or name tape on his uniform as there should be.

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Quotes

George Herbert: Victor, we have rabies vaccines right here.
Pastor Victor: You're gonna give these beasts rabies?
George Herbert: No, I'm gonna inject toxins that can spread a deadly disease through their system.
Pastor Victor: We're gonna give them a virus?
George Herbert: Yes. Nothing's worked. The missiles, the bombs, guns, nothing. But this is life fighting life. Victor, this has a chance.
Pastor Victor: Right. How about I go out there and call them in now?
George Herbert: I didn't say it was a perfect plan. Do you have a better idea?

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Crazy Credits

We suggest moving, and/or staying away from pits with aliens in them.

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Connections

Featured in War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave (2008)

User Reviews

Not for everybody

This was a more character-driven film than a special-effects based one, like Spielburg's version. I'd rather not compare the two, they are so different, and people posting reviews here seem to be just simply obsessed with Tom Cruise and Spielburg's versions of this classic, and have made their comparisons between he two already.

I liked this version particularly because the characters seemed more familiar to me. Howell does a good job as the dad trying to get to DC to his wife and kids. There is a lot of walking, I didn't find it tedious, as some have expressed in reviews, I found it to be realistic.

When the aliens arrived they managed to disable almost everything electrical and electronic. Eventually everything we take for granted failed, the cars, the phones, and forget about TV and radio. So people started walking. So much walking. You get a very realistic feel of not just the confusion and terror, this new world sucks, nobody knows what to do or where to go or even what the hell is going on. If anything it is realistic to a fault. This is what's left, no leadership, no communications, just a world of clueless human refugees wandering around trying to survive. Sure some try to fight the huge massive tripods, and the guns work, but they don't seem to do much.

Days go by wandering. It's agony. I have to wonder if people who really hated this flick hated it because it took them too close to reality, to that dark place where we are all afraid to go inside ourselves when faced with a real, inconceivable crisis. I suppose unless you've actually lived through something similar, you can't really appreciate this flick. Or if you are just too afraid to let yourself imagine what it FEELS like.

The wandering is agonizing in this film. One horror after another. it would be different if the characters weren't likable, but you can't help feel for George, wandering sick, for days, in the rain and elements, sleeping in the dark, on the ground or in an abandoned pickup truck. He mets Sgt. Kerry along the way and they become friends. They go looking for George's Air Force Ranger brother. When they finally find him, he's already dying; this scene was another emotionally devastating event in a stream of events. Sgt. Kerry pulls some debris off George's brother, to find him decapitated, and promptly projectile-vomits. George is inconsolable as his brother keeps telling him "everything's OK, everything's OK". It's heart-breaking and personal and intimate.

Now you know why some people would prefer Spielburg's safe-distance outside observer special-effects leaden flick over this one. This one makes you FEEL what it would be like. It's not a glossy trademark gimmick with big name actors mostly just looking pretty.

Confusion and despair and incomprehension cling to this film. When George meets Pastor Victor along the way, we are treated to Pastor Victor trying to console one of the few surviving people in his church over her two dead young children. It isn't pretty as she screams "I HATE GOD" and slaps him. It left me shaking a little. There is no consolation in this cataclysm. They leave her, and silently trod onward, every step a horrible aching burden.

At one point I said to my dog "I don't want to feel this..." I have to respect this flick for this. It hit home. It made me think of other refugees around the world, of other disasters, and the real, gritty, un-pretty, un-Hollywood gloss of reality, which does suck. It puts you THERE.

And we Americans are all about avoidance and evasion now, arn't we ? Even when George and Sgt. Kerry make it to a town, the people are standing around and going about their business, soldiers everywhere. Nobody seems to be in a hurry, or even remotely aware of what is happening. George and Sgt. Keery know. Who would believe it ? Locals heard rumors that it was the government's experiment gone wrong, terrorists, etcetera. There seems to be no upper command structure left to the military. The slaughter is coming, but no one will believe it until it arrives, and even then - it's just so inconceivable. We don't have to wait long, the tripods arrive and slaughter the town.

The ending is anticlimactic, and George never gets the hero's recognition for injecting the alien with the rabies from the vets house that was probably the cause of their demise. It doesn't matter, because he's finally found his family. It's not a classic happy ending, because half the people in the world are dead and our civilization is utterly ruined. And Sgt. Kerry's been shot in the head - it happened so fast we had no time to even grieve. We were too busy just surviving, and running....