In 2005,Steven Spielbergreleased his remake/adaptation ofWar of the Worlds.
ThoughWar of the Worldsmay have been based on an H.G.
This movie is alsoreallypro-military.
Pretty much wheneverthere is a heroic moment, it is a military man leading the way.
read more: How Spielbergs Night Skies Became E.T.
The Tripods might not be real, but 9/11 really happened.
Our country likes to mention 9/11, but we dont really like todiscussit.
Almost from the get-go, we wanted to narratavize it and move on.
Its an understandable response to trauma and grief, even if it isnt a particularly healthy one.
Ahead of pop cultures apocalypse craze.
In premise and execution, it is reminiscent ofThe Walking Deador any of the countless young adult apocalypse-themed adaptations.
It also might be a TV show (see Spielbergs less-good, but very similarFalling Skies).
That ending.
It is an ending that manages to be both unexpectedly optimistic and desperately unsatisfying at the same time.
Many critics view this dissatisfication as a bad thing, but I think it represents a bold narrative choice.
In 2005, America was very much a country that wanted to go back to The Way Things Were.
We are still that country, in many, often destructive ways.
The final, lingering shots ofWar of the Worldsdont present that as a viable option.
Thats unsettling, but it doesnt make for a bad movie.
Actually, it makes for kind of an important one.
