I shall start with the good - visually it was stunning. I either read or was told on here that this is the highest budget drama the BBC has ever produced and it shows as the CGI is on par with any Hollywood blockbuster of today (I reserve this only for the tripods, not the Martians - I'll come back to this). I remember seeing the first glimpse of the tripods on New Years Eve and I was beyond impressed with the design as not only was it terrifying, it was like none that had come before them. The 'spider' walk/design is not one I would have ever considered before when thinking of a tripod but it just adds a fresh new terror. Same goes for their call which immediately reminded me of Spielberg's tripod call and t-Rex roar merged together and the fact it was more like a groan just worked so well. The wide shots of the tripods in action were just beyond fantastic and at those points H G Wells' story had truly come to life straight from the page. It was great to finally have an adaptation that included the black smoke (I heard it is in the deleted scenes of Spielberg's one but since he never released them, we'll never know!).
Unfortunately that is where I have to stop with the good things and begin with the moaning.
This was described by the media prior to its release as a faithful adaptation set in the time of the novel - well this was a lie straight off the bat. I can forgive that instead of the end of 19th it's the beginning of the 20th but the thing that really gripes me was the military uniforms being not as described in the book which sounds ridiculous but the modern WW1 style made me hyperaware of the different time setting. I didn't mind the George/Amy storyline (well, once I learned it was mirroring Wells' life) and I enjoyed the fact that everyone was so caught up in it and cared so much then bam! aliens! But what I didn't like was that because of them, the story deviated so much from how it should have been to the point where it was just the same premise of the book and that's where the similarities ended. To be promised a faithful adaptation and then for this to happen was truly a shame. The lack of the Artilleryman and the Curate storylines were incredibly jarring as these moved the story along and added more to a story that could have been people just running away but there was barely even any of that!
The Martians themselves is a difficult one. On the one hand, yes it would be nice to see them as Wells' described them because although they were monstrous to look at, they were basically helpless and that was the point compared to their machines. That being said, the audience in 1800's would be horrified to read about such things but the audience in 2019 is so desensitised now, the anti will always be upped to scare or disgust us. Unfortunately it seems they blew the CGI budget on the tripods as when it came to the Martian scenes the quality took a nosedive. I'm sure the design of them was minimalist on purpose but it just seemed like no thought had gone into them at all and looked like lower budget Spielberg ones. The eating human flesh aspect annoyed me greatly also - the whole point is they are supposed to be so much more advanced than us hence no need to eat and that good detail has been completely ignored (as were so many others).
Each episode had terrible pacing issues. Despite the Martians showing up and people panicking, there still doesn't seem to be any urgency. I will keep recalling to Spielberg's but I am not comparing them of course, but in his, when the tripods came along - you knew about it! The pace would pick up, the music would increase and you start to panic and it was scary as hell! But in this adaptation it was just a bit...meh. Again, truly wonderful to look at but just no get up and go. Further to this (and this could be a money thing) but the tripods are not given nearly enough screen time. They appear and then they are suddenly gone. Is that to keep the mystique? I don't know but I don't care for it - I wanted so much more as I'm sure so many others did.
The whole cylinder/sphere debacle was a definite swing and a miss. Perhaps with explanation woven into the story it would have worked as I completely understand that writers will want to put their own spin on things (see what I did there!) but when it deviates so much from the original and then doesn't grant us an explanation it just doesn't work. I'm still clueless as to where the tripods appeared from if they weren't in the spheres. Why the weird reflective material and gooey surface? Defence mechanisms? Who knows but clearly not us. I did enjoy the heat ray being invisible but that's not something I would have been precious about but still.
The worst offender of them all however is the flash forwards. Again, not the book ending but I can forgive that as it is a good realistic concept which Wells did not employ but good god it was distracting and just not needed. Or if they were that desperate for it, they could have done it in small doses as per the international trailers and kept that illusion so as the episodes progressed we were not sure what the outcome of earth truly was going to be. So much of this adaptation was wasted on the flash forwards that we barely saw any of the story as it was happening which defeats the point of the story in the first place. For example, the scenes with the Martians and Amy held no suspense for me as I knew she was going to be fine and oh my god will everyone STOP BLOODY SHOUTING WHEN THEY'RE RIGHT OUTSIDE.
This review sounds like I hate it and I don't, truly I don't. Despite what I've written, I've watched each episode multiple times (bar the last one, as I am writing this after it has just finished airing) and I enjoyed it for the most part - it was the third episode which ruined it. Any new adaptation is a gift as it keeps the story alive and we get to see more WOTW. And for a casual watcher who doesn't necessarily know the original story I'm sure it was very watchable.
Unfortunately that is where I have to stop with the good things and begin with the moaning.
This was described by the media prior to its release as a faithful adaptation set in the time of the novel - well this was a lie straight off the bat. I can forgive that instead of the end of 19th it's the beginning of the 20th but the thing that really gripes me was the military uniforms being not as described in the book which sounds ridiculous but the modern WW1 style made me hyperaware of the different time setting. I didn't mind the George/Amy storyline (well, once I learned it was mirroring Wells' life) and I enjoyed the fact that everyone was so caught up in it and cared so much then bam! aliens! But what I didn't like was that because of them, the story deviated so much from how it should have been to the point where it was just the same premise of the book and that's where the similarities ended. To be promised a faithful adaptation and then for this to happen was truly a shame. The lack of the Artilleryman and the Curate storylines were incredibly jarring as these moved the story along and added more to a story that could have been people just running away but there was barely even any of that!
The Martians themselves is a difficult one. On the one hand, yes it would be nice to see them as Wells' described them because although they were monstrous to look at, they were basically helpless and that was the point compared to their machines. That being said, the audience in 1800's would be horrified to read about such things but the audience in 2019 is so desensitised now, the anti will always be upped to scare or disgust us. Unfortunately it seems they blew the CGI budget on the tripods as when it came to the Martian scenes the quality took a nosedive. I'm sure the design of them was minimalist on purpose but it just seemed like no thought had gone into them at all and looked like lower budget Spielberg ones. The eating human flesh aspect annoyed me greatly also - the whole point is they are supposed to be so much more advanced than us hence no need to eat and that good detail has been completely ignored (as were so many others).
Each episode had terrible pacing issues. Despite the Martians showing up and people panicking, there still doesn't seem to be any urgency. I will keep recalling to Spielberg's but I am not comparing them of course, but in his, when the tripods came along - you knew about it! The pace would pick up, the music would increase and you start to panic and it was scary as hell! But in this adaptation it was just a bit...meh. Again, truly wonderful to look at but just no get up and go. Further to this (and this could be a money thing) but the tripods are not given nearly enough screen time. They appear and then they are suddenly gone. Is that to keep the mystique? I don't know but I don't care for it - I wanted so much more as I'm sure so many others did.
The whole cylinder/sphere debacle was a definite swing and a miss. Perhaps with explanation woven into the story it would have worked as I completely understand that writers will want to put their own spin on things (see what I did there!) but when it deviates so much from the original and then doesn't grant us an explanation it just doesn't work. I'm still clueless as to where the tripods appeared from if they weren't in the spheres. Why the weird reflective material and gooey surface? Defence mechanisms? Who knows but clearly not us. I did enjoy the heat ray being invisible but that's not something I would have been precious about but still.
The worst offender of them all however is the flash forwards. Again, not the book ending but I can forgive that as it is a good realistic concept which Wells did not employ but good god it was distracting and just not needed. Or if they were that desperate for it, they could have done it in small doses as per the international trailers and kept that illusion so as the episodes progressed we were not sure what the outcome of earth truly was going to be. So much of this adaptation was wasted on the flash forwards that we barely saw any of the story as it was happening which defeats the point of the story in the first place. For example, the scenes with the Martians and Amy held no suspense for me as I knew she was going to be fine and oh my god will everyone STOP BLOODY SHOUTING WHEN THEY'RE RIGHT OUTSIDE.
This review sounds like I hate it and I don't, truly I don't. Despite what I've written, I've watched each episode multiple times (bar the last one, as I am writing this after it has just finished airing) and I enjoyed it for the most part - it was the third episode which ruined it. Any new adaptation is a gift as it keeps the story alive and we get to see more WOTW. And for a casual watcher who doesn't necessarily know the original story I'm sure it was very watchable.
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