War of the Worlds

Saw it today with Veronica, and I thought it was awesome! Of course the special effects were brilliant, but what I found most incredible about it was the level of 'primal' fear it was able to create. Something about hiding from a huge malevolent force is a powerful feeling. The tripods looked exactly the way I had always imagined them. I used to have bad dreams as a kid about hiding in a city while some terrible creature slowly made its way around, eating up everyone it came across. (Not an actual nightmare though, I've never had one of those).

Perhaps my favourite scene was the one on the car ferry, when the tripods showed up and attacked, causing the ferry to capsize. Great cinematogrphy and editing. The scene where the mob dragged Cruise and kids out of their vehicle was also very well done; completely 'real' and uncompromising.

While certainly an improvement over the old 1950's film version, I think it would still be good to see the story made into a film the way the author intended, i.e. in Victorian England with the preacher, the foot soldier etc.

Wonder if I'll have that old dream again tonight??