bhalley-the-comet
While I love good sci-fi flicks this one had potential but fell flat on its face before it reach the second turn of the race. I also was a bit disappointed by this being more than a supposed network broadcast.Where the plot really falls flat is that with the second meteor and third set of meteors that they could back track to the source. Also, with the speed they are flying and reaction from the third to the fourth set of meteors would mean they weren't much further than the moon creating a major whole in story-line.The scientist trying to tie the diamonds together was also something of a childish attempt to prove alien intent that was dead on arrival. He goes over all this scientific info and then pulls a diamond image off one piece of how he is tying this to alien life behind what has happened.
trupinoy1
Superb job of director Robert Iscove and his crew portraying this film, along with a notable lineup of actors and actress'. Acting and the plot was impressive, giving the audience a sense of realism without being too overly dramatic or Hollywoodish. Compared to other movies utilizing the newsroom to introduce the plot, this by far surpasses most. I can see how this movie when first aired how people mistook it for being genuine. In a sense I would consider this a modern 90's era mindset reaction of people and a paranoid nation in response to a first encounter to Earth. A good comparison for this film would be when H.G. Well's broadcasted his War of the World over live radio, also depicted a true sense of realism, with the exception of this film having the perspective view from within the TV newsroom. Robert portrayed this film with such realism that easily gave the sense of an actual TV broadcast and interviews of world crisis' and headline news of before. The world definitely needs more films with this realm of realism rather than some recent films which try to portray the same sense utilizing the first person perspective with a handy cam, nauseating acting by a hokey cast, and typical overly used plot with the predictable idiotic actions of the characters, a feeble attempt to entice the audience. A good film shouldn't need to have those.
mreesm
This is not really a review but it must be said. I am English and watched the film on a cable channel that showed the film with no commerical breaks stating how the entire affair of the apocalypse was totally fictitious. And I must say that both myself and my innocent family sat through this apparently 'real' news flash and to be put lightly, I (censored)ing (censored) myself! I was 8 years old and it may well have scarred me for life and it left us hugging together infront of our tvscreen of static waiting for the alien meteors to kill us.But it probably doest have the same effect on DVD.
Dr Wily
As the final commercial comment said, a realistic depiction of fictional events that never occurred. For Halloween of 1994, CBS paid homage to the Orson Welles radio broadcast of "War Of The Worlds" with a story about asteroids colliding with Earth. The movie is told in a style of interrupted TV broadcasts, eventually becoming on the air news of the destruction of the world. It is told like a series of newscasts breaking up normal broadcast television. (In fact, the movie opens up with a clip from a Mario Bava picture.) This is the movie's greatest strength.
To add to the realism, they used real news caster Sander Vanocur as the "star." It may seem kind of redundant, but, Vanocur does play a fake newscaster well, as if it is real. In too many cases, like say sports stars, it's hard to act playing your profession on screen. He lends the film believability, much the same way he does to the news scenes in "Street Fighter: The Movie." With cameos by, as themselves, Arthur C. Clarke and a bevy of people who you probably wouldn't know playing themselves, one might be forgiven for believing it if they came in on the middle on this. Only the appearances of established actors John de Lancie, Dennis Lipscomb (From another disaster epic, "The Day After.") Philip Baker Hall, and she who would become the mother of Malcolm In The Middle reassure anyone who hasn't been watching from the beginning that it's a fake.
The only real problem with this production are a few science fiction cliche's thrown into the story. Yes, we know we humans are barbarian. But, how else would you react when directed asteroids were being hurled your way, even if they may (Or may not.) have been under control of an alien, peaceful intelligence merely trying to send us a message? You take steps to prevent them from crashing into you. And, yes, blowing things up is a violent reaction, but, if you were an alien trying to peacefully contact Earth, would you rain down stone armageddon (Excuse the pun.) from the skies? All in all, the final result is a pleasing surprise of extended, building suspense and (mostly) logical story progression. The ending is a nice surprise, where the denoument doesn't extend too long, for once. I'm glad I taped this during its first run, as I've not seen it air anywhere in the US since. Another perfect unknown candidate for a video release.
