War of the Worlds

The ultra-short review of Steven Spielberg's new War of the Worlds is that it's good apocalyptic summertime fun. But mainly, I was struck by what I can only call its terrestrial orientation. It's a flat-earth movie, showing no interest or even awareness of anything beyond Tom Cruise's immediate environment. For example:

• Electrical storms are the first sign of the invasion--but we've been monitoring space for decades, have hundreds of satellites above the earth. and surely would've noticed some kind of disturbance before the storms.
• The alien machines have been buried underground for "millions of years." Wouldn't some of our geological explorations--like drilling for oil--have turned up evidence of one?
• Despite monitoring Earth forever, these aliens seem to have no knowledge of any kind of micro-organisms. And just like in Signs, they don't wear clothes. (Note to future alien overlords: spacesuits)

I don't think these are necessarily faults (though they make the suspension of disbelief a lot more difficult). What I find really interesting is the decision to leave these kinds of questions unanswered.

Maybe it's Tom Cruise's character, Ray Ferrier, an incurious blue collar guy who's too scared to try to understand what's happening. One interpretation is that movie is made on his scale, reflecting his knowledge and worldview. Early in the movie an electro-magnetic pulse knocks out most electronic equipment, making cars undriveable. It's one of the only science fiction-y explanations of events in the film, and it just happens that Ray is good with cars. In fact, War of the Worlds is so wrapped around Ray Ferrier that you could think of it as an extended dream sequence.

Another interpretation is that in a world over-run with explanations--from chocolate's impact on free radicals to shark attacks--our inability to analyze and understand a situation is truly scary. I think that could be a deep vein of modern anxiety, but Spielberg doesn't seem to be exploring it in War of the Worlds.

So I was left wondering--is there something here besides Tom Cruise's staccato acting and the thrum of alien tripods? The paradox of this War of the Worlds is that despite its convincing visual effects it's in some ways more dated than the original. It's science fiction without the science.