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#SPOILERS# BBC War of the Worlds…

Started by Jim_Campbell, 17 November, 2019, 08:45:58 PM

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Jim_Campbell

Honestly. I've seen it. Save yourselves three hours of your life, because it's fucking terrible. Spoilery rant below.

[spoiler]I see now why it was delayed. Someone completely bottled the 'faithful adaptation' idea. They clearly went back and inserted a bunch of flash-forward scenes to a post-invasion apocalyptic world that utterly ruins the whole thing. It's been fucked about in the editing stage by people who had no faith in the source material. I'm actually quite angry about spending a chunk of my life watching this thing.

The maddening part is that there was probably a perfectly decent adaptation buried in this thing somewhere. Early on, the book stuff is well-realised although the editing seems to be off — some scenes don't seem to be coming in the right order. Nothing I can point to as outrageously out of sequence, just a general sense of "Wait... what...?"

It really feels like they made a straight adaptation and someone decided it wouldn't gel with a modern audience, so they went back and messed about with it.

As the thing continues, they go all in on the flash-forward stuff which sucks all the life out of what's left of the book material.

You were hoping to see tripod vs HMS Thunder Child? Don't hold your breath. There's a bit on Skegness beach ("We're heading for safety in Dunkirk!" Ooh! The fucking irony!) but it never develops into the scene we all wanted.

My previous point about not trusting the source material...? There's a point late on where a character ACTUALLY SAYS "This is all white people's fault, isn't it...? This is like what we did to those poor chaps in the jungle..."

It's FUCKING AWFUL.[/spoiler]
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Leigh S

That is disappointing - well, we still have Dracula...  :lol:

honestly, given the trailer for WotW seemed slightly more promising than the Dracula one with it's the lead seemingly going for a weird chilled out mockney vampire vibe -  "Ah staffies, what sweet music they make..."

shaolin_monkey

That's a crying shame. I enjoyed the first episode.

ABCwarBOT

I'm not reading any spoilers for the 2nd and 3rd episodes but I liked the 1st episode too

Jim_Campbell

Ah, well... don't say I didn't warn you! Wait until you get to the last hour or so when...

[spoiler]Much of the time is spent with whatserface moping around an incredibly cheap-looking apocalyptic wasteland while in the invasion sequences we're basically treated to three people hiding under a kitchen table.[/spoiler]

SPOILERS UNDER THAT BLOCK FOR STUFF NOT YET AIRED ON THE BBC.
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ABCwarBOT

#5
Again I'm not reading the spoilers but knowing the BBC over the past few years I wouldn't be surprised if it's disappointing (and downright shit in some cases).  Mind you many big Hollywood films etc can be just as shite.   I'll let you know what I think at the end of it.

Professor Bear

I liked the bit where the brave British MP who explicitly defends colonialism onscreen goes out with a stiff upper lip while the loony leftie feminism-supporter who said maybe Britain done a bad thing once or twice snaps and turns lily-livered before killing himself.
The adaptation also alters the defeat of the Martians to [spoiler]an outright endorsement of biological warfare[/spoiler].  The point of the original story isn't that the war is any kind of arms race, it's that Britain/humanity is unquestionably routed by a technologically superior colonising force and only saved by a divine irony over which they have no agency.  The BBC adaptation instead chooses to condone British exceptionalism, the very jingoistic nonsense of which the book has long been viewed - even by this adaptation - as being critical.
There's a bit in that terrible Gerard Butler film* about terrorists holding the weather to ransom where it opens with a little girl explaining the weather got bad because of global warming and then her dialogue is "and then we fought back" and I was like what the fuck does that even mean in this context, you dumb bastard?  Anyway, that's the kind of tone deaf vibe I got off this.


* that's narrowing it down for you.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Professor Bear on 18 November, 2019, 12:19:36 PM
The point of the original story isn't that the war is any kind of arms race, it's that Britain/humanity is unquestionably routed by a technologically superior colonising force and only saved by a divine irony over which they have no agency

Yeah. I thought of all the many things I didn't like, that was possibly the most craven and objectionable.
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Bolt-01

Having read this thread I feel guilty for enjoying it.

Professor Bear

I didn't think it was that terrible apart from the bizarre cake-and-eat-it mix of progressive/conservative politics, but then I was comparing it to the Gabriel Byrne one where Earth is invaded by cute robot dogs and which is for some reason 70% shot in French despite being set in England.

Richard

Jim, look at it this way: you watched it so that I and many others wouldn't have to. We appreciate your sacrifice.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Richard on 18 November, 2019, 03:48:56 PM
Jim, look at it this way: you watched it so that I and many others wouldn't have to. We appreciate your sacrifice.

I like to take one for the team every now and then... :-)
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von Boom

Thanks for the review Jim. I was really looking forward to this and hoping for a great adaptation. Hopes dashed yet again.

shaolin_monkey

Ah well, we'll always have the Jeff Wayne musical and the Edginton/D'Israeli graphic novel.

I also hear the David Tennant straight read of the original novel on Audible is rather excellent.

Proudhuff

Quote from: von Boom on 18 November, 2019, 04:50:53 PM
Thanks for the review Jim. I was really looking forward to this and hoping for a great adaptation. Hopes dashed yet again.

This^^^^ watched the first episode after hearing about it on R4 and the writer sounded fine. The reasoning for changes all sounded sensible, then I saw the first episode!!
I haven't read Jim's review yet, but for me what was most annoying was the emoting muzak, and the tussled haired  extra from Oliver!

The opening/unscrewing of first object in a (not) giant crater, was the most disappointing piece of TV since Lady Di's three of us interview.
DDT did a job on me