I'm sure this has been done before... but ah well.
The problem I have with WOTW is that it is kind of a cross between a serious sci fi film and a pop corn flick - it doesn't really fit into either category real well...
Independence Day is so clearly a popcorn flick. It doesn't try to be anything other than what it is - WOTW does in my opinion.
But I still prefer WOTW to ID4... mainly because popcorn flick just ain't my thing, and WOTW's shortcomings are enough to set it above ID4 as a film.
For what it is, ID4 is a great, but my vote goes to WOTW.
WOTW's because these aliens kicked@ss and they were killing people unlike independence day they waited a while to attack but both movies are cool though but my vote goes to WOTW's
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I gotta say ID4. That new War of the Worlds movie was one of the most boring movies I've ever seen. I wanted Tom Cruise and his annoying family to die after half an hour.
Normally, the more of a popcorn flick it is, the more I hate it. In this case, ID4 is much better than WotW simply because it has more story which is rare for a popcorn flick. Plus the simple design of the ships is better than the tripods. The only thing WotW had going was the mood but it did nothing with it.
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It's more than just that. They have the technology to move between planets, and have made the detailed biological study of human blood that would be necessary to make use of it the way they do, yet somehow are ignorant of micro-organisms within it?
Not to mention that it is highly unlikely that any such things would hurt aliens (and with a virus it would be effectively impossible; it is traditionally meant to be a cold that killed them but that can't be it)
Not at all important, of course; it's just a film (and book), but it just gave some perspective on not knocking ID4 so much for that.
Of course, Wells made his reference to micro-organisms in the original in a sentence saying God put them there. Him being an avowed atheist, we can assume he was more interested in dramatic value than hard fact at this point.
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Last edited by Ushgarak on Jul 29th, 2005 at 09:57 PM
Agreeing with most of you guys on this. WOTW is full of holes.
ID4 was awesome. When I saw it, it blew me away. I mean ID4 covered almost every aspect aliens invading Earth and how people would react.
Loved it when Will Smith woke up, still sleepy, and pissing, all the while their are crowds looking toward the sky at huge space ships.
WOTW had basically an invasion of America or just a city/state. ID4 covered the entire planet. I mean the military pulled out jets and stealth bombers - even trying to nuke them, unlike WOTW.
Heck, to be honest, the whole time I watched War Of The Worlds I was thinking to myself that most of the scenes reminded my of ID4, as if Speilberg ripped some ideas from ID4.
I think they where both good movies but I have to go with ID4. it just seemed to cover the bases a little more that WOTW. The thing is I think people tend to look to hard at movies and forget to just lay back and watch it for the entertainment. ID4 was a really good movie and I just find myself liking it more even if it is a little far-fetched that Will Smith could just jump into a aliens ship and fly it.
If there are similarites between ID4 and the new WOTW, do remember that is because they are both based on the same story- ID4 was a modern re-telling of the original WOTW.
The WOTW book always had a very personal outlook on alien invasion, hence the small scale of the new film; that is intentional.
However, it is a shame that it had no effective fight back from the Humans, unlike the original.
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I think you guys are being overly critical for a science fiction movie of this calibur. These movies like ID4 and war of the worlds are made only for entertainment. Trying to introduce logic is just setting yourself up for a big fall. I used to do this all the time. Untill i learned to dscipline myself in accepting bullshit for the good of entertainment. Very few movies are entirley believable. Now if you would have said you diddnt like ID4 for the terrible pacing, writing or acting, that would be one thing. these kinds of movies are only made for awsome scenes and to play out situations that could never happen to us. I do agree though, that if your going to do somthing you should do it right and i catch myself more times than not saying " that is the dumbest damn thing" but when i swallow my rationality i tend to enjoy these movies more.
Of course war of the worlds was totally unbelivable. These aliens have been studying humanity and our planet for centuries, yet they forgot to factor in the atmosphere, and they decided to pass up the oppertunity to invade the planet when there was no intelligent threat. However, the over all atmosphere and provoked emotion gives a sense of humanity. That is the goal, provoking emotion and they accomplished. The dialogue was believable as were the characters. This is the reason i would give my vote to war of the worlds. The characters and action from ID4 seemed fake and unbelivable.
Also, Ush, you dont think that is was unecessary to show the humans fighting back? I think that was intentional. For all of our most powerfull technologies, we were unable to effect the invaders in even the most miniscule way. In the end, it wasnt us who defeated them, but nature. I think it would have sent mixed signals. It would have also, conlicted the focused perspective from the family.
I also feel as though i need to comment on an earlier post from someone saying that war of the worlds was filled with holes. ID4 is one of the kings of holy cheese when it comes to sci-fi.
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Last edited by jinXed by JaNx on Jul 31st, 2005 at 12:44 AM
Virtually all old Sci Fi movies are saturated with undertones, many of which are reflective of the society at the time. These days, it is entertainment.
I mean Cruises son survived explosion of the hill battle and got to Boston. Heck, Boston looked fine even though it was a major city.
The aliens planned for years yet got beaten by bacterias? If they'd come down spontaneously to take over a new planet and wasn't ready then it's an okay ending. But it wasn't. Speilberg had the invasion force hidden ready for the invasion, and when it came about - the aliens lost because they weren't prepared for microbes? What kind of dumb aliens are these?
I'm fine with how the original ended with the microbes. But this version just sucked. I mean it didn't take much thinking to realize that aliens should've been prepared for the microbes. Speilberg should've had the invasion be spontaneous, instead of prep. I know he didn't want everything to be like the original, but he should thought it through when he had the aliens bury there ships for millions of years.
An entire plane dropping down on the house, and guess what? The van wasn't even damaged although everything else around was.
ID4 had a good ending. WOTW just ended right away. The aliens weakenned and they were taken out. And for all that running and suspense, Cruise and Dakota get home to a happy family, even finding out his son had survived, without any explanation.
Last edited by Beyonder on Jul 31st, 2005 at 08:06 AM