the spielberg war of the worlds seen 17 years on still feels like spielberg on autopilot, which means it’s a bunch of really fantastic, memorable shots–because the man is incapable of doing that–they’re just glued together by whatever

— Bo Bolander (@BBolander) May 10, 2022

Yeah, the movie doesn’t hold together. But those action set pieces — gawdamn, they are tight. I watched this one again a few weeks ago and wished any contemporary movie had something like that. It helps that 70% of the effects there are practical — those bricks* really are falling, those cars really are bouncing as the road heaves, that water really is gushing into the sky.

*Could be fake, lightweight bricks, but it’s not CGI is my point.