The Movie
I didn't especially like Steven Spielberg's take on War of the Worlds when I saw it in the theater in 2005, and I never relished the idea of watching it again from start to finish. That time off has given me a fresh perspective, and I've developed a new appreciation for his balance of family drama--a single dad struggling to protect his increasingly distant son and daughter--and planet-spanning sci-fi action. In this thoroughly modern redux of H.G. Wells' timeless tale, envious Martians have awakened sleeper cells buried all over the Earth, with plans to exterminate (and recycle!) humanity for their own unsympathetic ends. Tom Cruise stars in his familiar "asshole (but not really!)" guise, although so much of the movie is carried by the wide-eyed, wise-beyond-her-years Dakota Fanning as his seriously unhinged 'tweenager. There are definitely some suspenseful, thrilling scenes, and even a few touching moments, although I wish that quite so much of the movie didn't depend upon coincidence or otherwise strain credibility.
The Picture
This high-def remaster is surprisingly soft, and distractingly grainy and noisy throughout. There's frequent buzz and occasional flicker, special effects don't always match with live-action elements, with a noticeable outline around some sets and characters, in addition to a weird after-image problem during at least one fast camera move. This is not a pretty movie (hell, much of it was shot in Newark) and the colors are not impressive, either. But the single biggest issue here has to be that the standard for blacks is unfortunately below average, devoid not just of detail but of any sort of natural appearance, just harsh cavities within the 1.85:1 frame. I don't understand how Mr. Spielberg, one of our greatest living filmmakers, could sign off on this.
The Sound
But ah, the audio! Powerful bass thumps in John Williams' score are but a prelude to all of the heavy metal action, when aliens attack: automobiles fly, buildings topple, jumbo jets drop from the sky (right outside the front door of Tom's ex-wife's house, naturally), and a loaded ferry is dumped over as if it were a toy. Martian-created lightning is particularly powerful in the rears, and there's a lot more going on behind us--doors opening, dogs barking--for a remarkably full, enveloping soundfield. Odds and ends in my home theater actually started to fall in the wake of the chilling death bellow of a giant tripod! For maximum impact, the fury is interspersed with deceptively quiet moments. War of the Worlds remains one of the most outstanding soundtracks I have ever heard, now more than ever in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1.
The Extras
The multiple featurettes are more interesting than some, although all are presented in their original SD, with no effort to update their interactivity from DVD to the next generation as DreamWorks/Paramount did for Minority Report. Most are brief and topic-specific (see complete details below), although "Scoring War of the Worlds" was filmed by Spielberg himself, and Williams' humility and creativity are always engaging. Longest are the four-part Production Diaries: If you're looking for the real fly-on-the-wall "making of" meat, you'll find it here.
Final Thoughts
A sub-par video master and the static carryover of the bonus features are big and little strikes, respectively, but if you're a fan of this summer blockbuster and enjoy Earth-moving audio, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track alone is worth the price of admission.
Product Details
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