WAR OF THE WORLDS thread... (merged)
07-05-05, 03:54 PM
#376
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So why did they even want our planet? They had to know something about human blood if they were making the effort to spray it all over the place.
07-05-05, 03:57 PM
#377
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Originally Posted by thephantom
These aren't assumptions, this is what happend in the movie. Only 2 people had guns, from Ray's PoV. I find that completely unrealistic.
Ray, the guy who everything just happens to happen to, happens to be the one who blows up a tripod with a grenade. Here's where you misunderstand me. I don't know who blow up what outside of Ray's PoV. If a twevle year old took out 300 of these things with a lighter and a can of hairspray, I don't give a damn. What I do give a damn about is that by this point Ray seems to be the only guy who doesn't stand around like a sheep. How hard would it have been to have the Half-Life barnacle/sphincter thing grab someone else and Ray hand the guy a grenade, or the soldier see the grenade belt and put it use, something. Instead we fall back on Ray again. That's ok for a bit, but I found it repetitive.
No one did point out that crowds gathered around loud noisemaking machinery and bright lights are a bad idea, at least not loud enough Ray hears it. I find that unrealistic. More realistic would be the cops yelling in a bullhorn, "Everyone disperse before the aliens find us and blow our asses away".
I am making assumptions about bacteria, based on my understanding of biology. If you can find me a biologist who'll say that there's more than a .00000000000000001% of a human sized oxygen/co2/nitrogen breathing, water drinking lifeform that never encountered bacteria, I'll give up that point.
jaeufraser-I never saw the pianist, so I have no idea what I'd think about it.
Ray, the guy who everything just happens to happen to, happens to be the one who blows up a tripod with a grenade. Here's where you misunderstand me. I don't know who blow up what outside of Ray's PoV. If a twevle year old took out 300 of these things with a lighter and a can of hairspray, I don't give a damn. What I do give a damn about is that by this point Ray seems to be the only guy who doesn't stand around like a sheep. How hard would it have been to have the Half-Life barnacle/sphincter thing grab someone else and Ray hand the guy a grenade, or the soldier see the grenade belt and put it use, something. Instead we fall back on Ray again. That's ok for a bit, but I found it repetitive.
No one did point out that crowds gathered around loud noisemaking machinery and bright lights are a bad idea, at least not loud enough Ray hears it. I find that unrealistic. More realistic would be the cops yelling in a bullhorn, "Everyone disperse before the aliens find us and blow our asses away".
I am making assumptions about bacteria, based on my understanding of biology. If you can find me a biologist who'll say that there's more than a .00000000000000001% of a human sized oxygen/co2/nitrogen breathing, water drinking lifeform that never encountered bacteria, I'll give up that point.
jaeufraser-I never saw the pianist, so I have no idea what I'd think about it.
Once again, maybe 50 hours of bonus footage will come with the DVD and that will give you a better idea of what every freaking person was holding or what every freaking person was doing.
07-05-05, 04:01 PM
#378
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Originally Posted by cdollaz
Maybe the original party did die, which led them to investigate further. Upon investigation, they found what killed them and found a cure. Imagine their surprise when they came back this time and a new toxin killed them, one which didn't exist the last time around.
Wouldn't it be easier to just not drink the damn water? I at least would have had it checked again.
I don't pretend to understand why the aliens do the things they do, it's one of the great things about it that I liked. This topic however seems to be one that just makes no damn sense at all. Not only did it get the invasion force killed off, it tipped us off to their existance, and now we have acess to their tech, AND know a weakness.
Alien minds might work different ways but I can't see that one as smart to any form of intelligence.
07-05-05, 04:02 PM
#379
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I don't think it was blood they were spraying. They certainly consumed it from humans (which made incineration stupid) but I think they were spraying the spores that grew into the vines. It may have been red but it looked to "thin" to be blood.
I think it was the blood after it was converted into spores.
I think it was the blood after it was converted into spores.
07-05-05, 04:13 PM
#380
DVD Talk Limited Edition
What are these spores doing then? Growing more aliens? It obviously wasn't to change the enviroment since they are just walking around freely drinking water out of pipes in stranger's basements.
07-05-05, 04:17 PM
#381
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Originally Posted by raven56706
ID4 made you leave your brain at the door.... this movie made you think alittle more...
07-05-05, 04:18 PM
#382
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Originally Posted by dadaluholla
What are these spores doing then? Growing more aliens? It obviously wasn't to change the enviroment since they are just walking around freely drinking water out of pipes in stranger's basements.
It's not a hard concept to grasp.
07-05-05, 04:20 PM
#383
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Originally Posted by RocShemp
But an assumption of invincibilty implies a lack of preparation. With an arsenal hidden on Earth, these aliens were clearly prepared.
Now, your assumption that they were unfamiliar with microbes makes sense on the surface. I say "on the surface" not as a pun but rather that it looses plausibility upon further consideration. I could buy them being unaware of microbes when first they arrived on our planet but this was not the first time they arrived on our planet. The first landing party (the one that hid the Tripods underground) should have all died of disease. This in turn would have prompted their fellow aliens to investigate the situation further and prepare methodes to combat Earthbound microbes.
Now, your assumption that they were unfamiliar with microbes makes sense on the surface. I say "on the surface" not as a pun but rather that it looses plausibility upon further consideration. I could buy them being unaware of microbes when first they arrived on our planet but this was not the first time they arrived on our planet. The first landing party (the one that hid the Tripods underground) should have all died of disease. This in turn would have prompted their fellow aliens to investigate the situation further and prepare methodes to combat Earthbound microbes.
07-05-05, 05:44 PM
#384
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Originally Posted by Jackskeleton
When they were in the basement. You can see them clearly drinking water.
Plus Morgan Freeman said they "Ate our food and drank our water" in the closing narration.
07-05-05, 05:51 PM
#385
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Originally Posted by Mopower
Finally it's a freaking alien invasion story. And some of you are complaining that it isn't realistic enough??
that's what I don't get!!!!! For some reason, this film and this film alone, is being held to a very harsh standard in terms of realism. Give me a break!!! It's about aliens!!
On a side note to Alien Invasion:
I still say MARS ATTACKS Kicked major ass but it seems I'm the only person on Earth who loves that movie.
Last edited by Giantrobo; 07-06-05 at 03:49 AM.
07-05-05, 05:54 PM
#386
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Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc
And just for the record, I can't even make it through ID4.
I love you DFNYC but maybe that's your problem. You can't just sit back and enjoy a bit of escapism.
07-05-05, 06:00 PM
#387
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Originally Posted by Giantrobo
On a side note to Alien Invasion:
I still say MARS ATTCKS Kicked major ass but it seems I'm the only person on Earth who loves that movie.
I still say MARS ATTCKS Kicked major ass but it seems I'm the only person on Earth who loves that movie.
07-05-05, 06:03 PM
#389
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by Mopower
Again, if you really want to know dig up HG Wells and ask him!
What I need is to find Steven Spielberg and ask him point blank about every aspect of this film that makes no sense to me or other posters here. Sadly, that will never happen.
07-05-05, 06:04 PM
#390
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Originally Posted by Giantrobo
that's what I don't get!!!!! For some reason, this film and this film alone, is being held to a very harsh standard in terms of realism. Give me a break!!! It's about aliens!!
On a side note to Alien Invasion:
I still say MARS ATTCKS Kicked major ass but it seems I'm the only person on Earth who loves that movie.
On a side note to Alien Invasion:
I still say MARS ATTCKS Kicked major ass but it seems I'm the only person on Earth who loves that movie.
I love that movie too! But then again I don't sit around disecting it for it's lack of technical realism.
07-05-05, 06:05 PM
#391
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Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
I also love Mars Attacks!
Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack!...ACK! ACK!
Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack!...ACK! ACK!
07-05-05, 06:27 PM
#392
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I assumed that they were sucking out the blood to be used for fertilizer for their red weeds, not the aliens eating us. The red weeds were trying to turn Earth into another Mars. Best shown when Ray runs up the hill and looks out. The sky is red and most of the ground is red. Looks very similar to Mars.
I also think they send the tripods on their own that buried themselves until the invasion. It never says how deep they were but considering their sizes, I'd say a few hundred feet below the ground. Except for some subways and very few buildings, we don't dig that deep for our sewers, utilities, foundations. So we never found one.
What I would think would be cool is if they wrote some novels tied in with the movie. Show another part of the planet & how others dealt with them. I want to know how the Japanese took one down (besides Godzilla). Also novelize the movie as the movie not just release WOTW set back in the 1890's.
I also think they send the tripods on their own that buried themselves until the invasion. It never says how deep they were but considering their sizes, I'd say a few hundred feet below the ground. Except for some subways and very few buildings, we don't dig that deep for our sewers, utilities, foundations. So we never found one.
What I would think would be cool is if they wrote some novels tied in with the movie. Show another part of the planet & how others dealt with them. I want to know how the Japanese took one down (besides Godzilla). Also novelize the movie as the movie not just release WOTW set back in the 1890's.
07-05-05, 07:19 PM
#393
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by Mopower
Well he is the star of the movie. You want exciting things to happen to the star of the movie. And dodging death ray blasts is pretty exciting. As for the alien tech of course the aliens could have had heat sensors. Shit the aliens could have just nuked everyone or killed everyone with poison gas. But then the story would have sucked if everyone died and there were no suspenseful scenes like the basement scenes. The probe and the aliens in the basement were brought in for that reason.
And in the original movie the movie took place around the scientists. Of course it's going to show them working on a way to destroy the aliens. This WOTW took place around a family. So if there aren't any scientists in the family you aren't going to see any of them.
Finally it's a freaking alien invasion story. And some of you are complaining that it isn't realistic enough??
And in the original movie the movie took place around the scientists. Of course it's going to show them working on a way to destroy the aliens. This WOTW took place around a family. So if there aren't any scientists in the family you aren't going to see any of them.
Finally it's a freaking alien invasion story. And some of you are complaining that it isn't realistic enough??
You know I get it. It's an alien movie not a documentary, however, when I'm asked to completely leave my brain at home, that's when I get irritated. As mentioned, the first few times Cruise didn't get hit was fine, but it just got out of hand. Even if he took some turn down a side street sneak route then I would have understood. Granted, the aliens could have still found him since they were like hundreds of feet up, however, he's running in a huge group of people and everyone to the left, right, side, in front, through stores are getting hit. I would expect Cruise to make it through to the end but just a shred, not a lot, just a sliver of a shred more plausibility would have made it better.
Heck, if it was a documentary then I must believe it, that's what makes those survivor stories so special. That's why you think, "if this wasn't true I wouldn't believe it." So because you're making this stuff up you have the control to make it just a little more believable, have Cruise jump down a manhole, run in a tunnel during that initial attack scene, you can do those things because you are making it up!!!!!!
However, that Cruise didn't die wasn't my major quip one of them was...
The basement scene....look sci-fi is just that, fiction. But we're years down the sci-fi movie timeline. We've got scores of sci-fi movies, they must get smarter as we see more sci-fi concepts (and even real science) being executed. I'm not going to see this super intelligent alien race using a probe for 20 mins., while people are basically riding the thing and not getting detected and just go with it. Establish that this probe is broken, establish that this race is superior at one area but they don't know how to build a proper probe, make it in the original old-time setting when such technologies as sonar or infra-red did not exist...something - it took away from the suspense in my book.
So this along with other, I feel, major, major issues caused me to dislike the movie.
And for goodness sake, I was one who loved Signs but I cannot sit and defend why those aliens came to a planet oozing water from every inch...I'm not going to defend it. Some of the more ridiculous aspects of this movies should not be defended, just say yeah, that's was a stretch but I liked it anyways. This was the alien invasion about family and faith. Perhaps shifting the point of view in this one was not a good idea. Just my opinion.
Last edited by iggystar; 07-05-05 at 07:22 PM.
07-05-05, 07:39 PM
#394
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Originally Posted by iggystar
And for goodness sake, I was one who loved Signs but I cannot sit and defend why those aliens came to a planet oozing water from every inch...I'm not going to defend it. Some of the more ridiculous aspects of this movies should not be defended, just say yeah, that's was a stretch but I liked it anyways. This was the alien invasion about family and faith. Perhaps shifting the point of view in this one was not a good idea. Just my opinion.
This is why things like the water in Signs, or the vague bacteria in War of the Worlds work fine for me. This is why alien motivations unknown, or a failing attack plan that, after looking 20/20 hindsight we say "they should've known better, so it's plot hole!" Of course, human history clearly shows that invading armies make mistakes of catastrophic levels consistently even when fighitng vastly inferior species.
So, I can't help but defend these so called inconsistencies, as truthfully they're not...unless you apply rules that don't fit the movie or, in many cases with lots of these complaints, don't make sense in the real world either (most of the so called errors dealing with EMP or such have been shown to be not errors at all).
Of course, some won't agree with me, so what can I say. But I don't see the gaping plot holes and huge leaps of logic other people do. I'm prefectly willing to accept open endedness and let my mind fill in the blanks. So far, I've successfully been able to come up with many, many good answers for all of them.
07-05-05, 08:17 PM
#396
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by jaeufraser
You know, much like Signs, War of the Worlds leaves a lot of information about the aliens vague. Much like Signs, we do not know what in particular kills the aliens. .
Of course, some won't agree with me, so what can I say. But I don't see the gaping plot holes and huge leaps of logic other people do. I'm prefectly willing to accept open endedness and let my mind fill in the blanks. So far, I've successfully been able to come up with many, many good answers for all of them.
Of course, some won't agree with me, so what can I say. But I don't see the gaping plot holes and huge leaps of logic other people do. I'm prefectly willing to accept open endedness and let my mind fill in the blanks. So far, I've successfully been able to come up with many, many good answers for all of them.
Here there were idea and concepts that were brought up, but not fully realized. The whole concept of alien technology buried for many years, brings up more questions. Just have them come down on a whim, then we're not wondering how we couldn't find them underground. This advance civilization getting defeated by bacteria is fine, didn't bother me too much, but it would have been better if it was hinted they came, for example, because their planet blew up and they had to go somewhere quickly. Didn't have time to send a test team.
Heck, I'm no sci-fi screenwriter, but many issues were brought up with no follow through. Whereas in Signs we didn't get some of these questions in the first place. And there seemed to be too many of these issues that we have to fill in the blanks on in WoTW, like the son for instance. By the end of the movie, because there were so many instance where I had to just turn my brain off, they all added up and stood out to me.
I know everything can't be explained away in a movie but dang, that probe in the basement, please, if it was broke somebody should have told me. I could have bought it if it just peeked down, took a glance and left, you don't have time to do a complete search of every basement when there are millions of houses. But 20 mins. Can that really be defended?
You know sometimes I've had a nitpick and I'm given an explanation that I didn't think of and I feel a sense of relief like, "Ok, I get it." I want to believe, I want to like a movie...some of these explanations are just not satisfactory to me.
Last edited by iggystar; 07-05-05 at 08:22 PM.
07-06-05, 02:30 AM
#397
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I am simply amazed how anyone can fucking compare this film to ID4. I saw War of the Worlds last night and thought it was terrific. Also, I consider A.I. to be one of the finest science fiction films ever. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
07-06-05, 08:15 AM
#398
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally Posted by iggystar
I know everything can't be explained away in a movie but dang, that probe in the basement, please, if it was broke somebody should have told me. I could have bought it if it just peeked down, took a glance and left, you don't have time to do a complete search of every basement when there are millions of houses. But 20 mins. Can that really be defended?
07-06-05, 08:28 AM
#399
DVD Talk Special Edition
Originally Posted by iggystar
The basement scene....look sci-fi is just that, fiction. But we're years down the sci-fi movie timeline. We've got scores of sci-fi movies, they must get smarter as we see more sci-fi concepts (and even real science) being executed. I'm not going to see this super intelligent alien race using a probe for 20 mins., while people are basically riding the thing and not getting detected and just go with it. Establish that this probe is broken, establish that this race is superior at one area but they don't know how to build a proper probe, make it in the original old-time setting when such technologies as sonar or infra-red did not exist...something - it took away from the suspense in my book.
