The War Of The Worlds

A female voice with a British accent reading from The War Of The Worlds by H.G. Wells is just about guaranteed to make me watch further. And, conveniently there is a new War of the Worlds series set where the book was set - Victorian England at the turn of the century. Jolly good times. Old timey tech and old timey weapons against those stinkin' Martians. The medicine at the time also meant that most people who got injured were going to die from their injuries. All you can do is run from one place to another and hope you don't get vaporized or burst into flames.

The story is famous in popular culture and we all know the trick ending because we all have read the classic comic book as well as the novel itself. Then there are the many movies. So in this one the journey will be the most important part because we already know the ending. Or do we.

Unlike any filmed version of this book we are shown the future and what is left of the world after the war and that is a side of the story that comes directly from the book. It's a bit jarring at first to get the time periods straight in your mind but once you do you will have a whole new appreciation for the source material.

The future scenes seem out of place but that is the way the book was originally written. This production was determined to keep to the source material as closely as possible.

The production design in amazing. How they managed to both create a realistic London and then destroy it in a realist way was impressive. The did a lot with very little CGI. Much more effective than having all that destruction in your face despite the temptation of the creators.

There is also a scandal surrounding our two lead characters which makes them outcasts in 'proper' Victorian society. He left his unhappy marriage to be with a woman he loves, something frowned up in those days. Surprised to find such a complicated relationship in a science fiction novel. That makes this a love story as well as a science fiction classic. The first episodes revolves around the two lovers who get separated after the first attack and become frantic to find each other.



The Martians are a particularly neat effect. Terrifying in their outworldlyness and assumed invincibility. Just advanced enough to seem plausible. Plus with no worldwide communication, no one knows what is happening anywhere else. They cannot co-ordinate anything resembling a counter attack. London is on it's own and only three Martian tripods were enough to lay England to waste.

 

 I am into seeing where this one goes every week.