Three more days to episode 2. 🤔

Let’s see if they can salvage something from episode 1 but I do like those period costume.

I have no idea why I’m still watching it. Slow, dull, way too many hanging shots of Dimelza…actually glad it’s over. Shit, shit, shit. Might read the book again to erase the memory of this awful interpretation of a great story.

Totally agree utter shit, yet I still watched it.

So very dull. Found myself reading threads on here instead of watching.

Yep 3/10 at best.
What I wanted: Edwardian Steam Punk military ( dreadnoughts / big field guns etc) v Martian mechanised tripods.
What I got: Some romantic wishy washy crap with soap opera production values.

Well that’s a complete and utter waste of time! Get aff ma tele! 😆

1/10.

Episode Two was far, far better than the first but it all came crashing down in episode three.

The story was all over the place, very hard for a narrative to come out of it. The flash-forward scenes were largely a colossal waste of time, TBH I am all for storyline over CGI finesse but there were only so many lingering shots of someone’s cellar or greenhouse through a filter that I can stand when the dialogue is so stilted. It’s almost as though the production team gave up after episode two and phoned this one in from the pub.

The people who were responsible for that adaptation need to be sacked it was that hammy/bad.

I thought episode two was quite promising, despite all the overly long shots of people staring at each other or at some unspecified in thing in the distance.

Then it all fell apart in episode 3. I almost turned it off when they made George state the bleeding obvious parallel between the British empire and the Martians half way through – I though the program was supposed to be for adults, not a year 5 English class. I stuck it out to the end and was even more disappointed than I thought I would be.

And the wishy-washy romance thing was so rubbish – you shouldn’t not care what happens to the characters, but I didn’t. Wells wrote some quite good romances (IMO) dealing with relationships and the difficulties of class, money and morals in Edwardian society. Can’t recall him ever writing something so bad as that.

They didn’t do it any favours by sticking it on directly after His Dark Materials, which is going from strength to strength.

I must admit, I abandoned ship after episode 2. I was starting to wish death on the central characters, which is never a good sign.

Haven’t seen it but I do have 3 questions please:

1. Did they kick the trend and forego the predictable ‘intensely-drab’ turquoise and brown video filter that seems to have been en vogue for over a decade now ?
2. Is it as good as the Tom Cruise one?
3. Is Mary Poppins in it?

Two no’s is a no for me I’m afraid.

Malvern Rider.
I might be in a minority here but I thought the Tom Cruise version was actually pretty good…a modern take on the book but at least it was faithful and dramatic. I was genuinely excited when I saw the Beeb were doing a version – I could not have been more disappointed. Terrible script, acting, effects, camera work and characters you really didn’t a toss about. Remember the ‘Why Don’t You?’ theme? Never been more apt when referring to this pile of arse.

Yeah, apart from the second half of episode 2, it was awful.

The physics of the aliens being able to walk on 3 wide set legs when the centre of gravity was clearly central bothered me. When you are thinking about details like that, the story has obviously lost you.

Malvern Rider.
I might be in a minority here but I thought the Tom Cruise version was actually pretty good

Me too. The building storm-clouds at the beginning is epic and very well done. And I thrilled at the 1953 one as a kid, it scared the jeebs out of me especially the creepy fingers over the shoulder/blood-soaked scarf bit. *shudder*. Floating-saucer-vacuum-cleaner-streetlights spitting fiery death!

Haven’t seen it but I do have 3 questions please:

1. Did they kick the trend and forego the predictable ‘intensely-drab’ turquoise and brown video filter that seems to have been en vogue for over a decade now ?

If you like all of the interior and a lot of exterior shots artificially darkened to the point that you can’t see what’s going on then you’re in for a huge treat with episodes two and three. The latter was especially obnoxious in this respect.

2. Is it as good as the Tom Cruise one?

As much as I was disappointed by the Spielberg WoTW, there was a steady ratcheting up of tension and you invested some emotion in the fate of the characters (screaming snotbrat kid aside). In parts, the BBC/Mammoth’s production was good – episode two the best of the three. There are flash forward scenes to some unspecified time after the Martians all got the shits and died, to a ruined Earth overrun with Martian red weed and turned into a global dustbowl. Episodes 1 & 2 managed to pull that off to some degree, but those in episode 3 ruined it – overly long and destroyed the narrative. Far too many shots of Eleanor Tomlinson looking sad at the camera shot through a red/brown filter.

3. Is Mary Poppins in it?

Well, after a reasonable start with episodes 1 & 2, if the final instalment had been a Julie Andrews musical it would still have only been marginally less rubbish. And I detest musicals.

It’s the typical BBC approach of over-using what you see as your main asset (Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson in this case). The script appeared to have been written to pointlessly include her as often as possible.

See also Killing Eve’s by-the-numbers second series, and Line of Duty, which should have been quietly put to sleep after series 3, Guvnor.

Thanks PJM. I’ll give it a miss.

if the final instalment had been a Julie Andrews

Yes there are two paths we can go by, but in the long run…

m+1 🙂

I almost turned it off when they made George state the bleeding obvious parallel between the British empire and the Martians half way through

But that parallel is explicitly made in the book, so why should it be left out?

watched episode 1 at the weekend. thought it was ok. not sure about the flash-forwards to the post apocalyptic wasteland, but will give EP2 a go at some point.

MrsDoris is a big fan of the book and was quite disappointed though.

Malvern Rider.
I might be in a minority here but I thought the Tom Cruise version was actually pretty good

Me too. The building storm-clouds at the beginning is epic and very well done. And I thrilled at the 1953 one as a kid, it scared the jeebs out of me especially the creepy fingers over the shoulder/blood-soaked scarf bit. *shudder*. Floating-saucer-vacuum-cleaner-streetlights spitting fiery death!

The Tom Cruise one is very good.

I honestly don’t know why some of you bothered to watch the BBC’s hatched/bodged job of WotW.

Maybe you just like moaning.

🤷‍♂️

I’ve recorded all three episodes but based on the opinions here I won’t waste my time watching them. I’ve been a fan of the book since I read it in my teens and have been waiting (50 years) for someone to take a simple, classic story and film it honestly. How hard can that be?

HG Wells builds time machine so he can punch whoever was responsible for that adaptation of War of the Worlds

🤪🤪🤪 ^^

brilliant 🤣👏

I only watched Episode 1 because all the village scenes were filmed in Great Budworth which is fairly local to me. Managed to sit through about 15 minutes of Episode 2 before getting bored with it all. And the special effects were mostly awful.

Judging from the comments above, I’m glad I didn’t stick with it!

1. Did they kick the trend and forego the predictable ‘intensely-drab’ turquoise and brown video filter that seems to have been en vogue for over a decade now ?

^ arggghhhh it drives me mad. Knew I wouldn’t have been the first to notice. Not that I haven’t enjoyed cross-processed film-style PS actions on my own work back in the day when digital photography was evolving. But even then, there are so many almost infinite options to use other than this bloody murk and turq malarkey! It’s just too much ketchup on the chips by now. Fresh chips please.

They should have called it Bore of the Worlds.

I almost turned it off when they made George state the bleeding obvious parallel between the British empire and the Martians half way through

But that parallel is explicitly made in the book, so why should it be left out?

It should be (and was) in there – that was the point of the book. It was the cack-handed way that particular scene was done. They might has well have got George to turn to camera and quote directly from a copy of York notes, or whatever it is kids use these days.

Mind you, it did result in the only interesting exchange in the whole episode – when George’s brother told him to grow a pair.

rascal

Member
Malvern Rider.
I might be in a minority here but I thought the Tom Cruise version was actually pretty good

tom cruise yin is a good film.

Again I wasted 1 hour of my life as I just have to watch it 😒

The version with Tom Cruise is much better but not perfect.

The only grace for the BBC version is the Edwardian costume …

Not had enough WoTW yet?

I’m struggling with the bbc version, halfway through the second and off to bed.
Saw the Tom Cruise one in the cinema at the time and liked it. Genuine feeling of jeopardy on the first showing.

It was well done.

I didn’t like the flabby second act scenes with Tim Robbins; it stopped the film stone dead. Otherwise it’s good fun

Finished watching it last night. Talk about a missed opportunity!

It was crap.

Stuck with it, had its decent moments but I’m baffled as to how they made a drama about an Alien invasion so **** boring? Part 3 was 50% that lass staring glumly into the camera.

Ep 3 got that bad I zoned out completely and had to rewind the it when the credits rolled, convinced I had missed something

Mm, should have wrapped it all up in 90 mins or so and had a little bit more fighting. On the plus side Delamere forest does have some sweet jumps. Must ride bikes more and watch less telly.

The physics of the aliens being able to walk on 3 wide set legs when the centre of gravity was clearly central bothered me. When you are thinking about details like that, the story has obviously lost you.

I was moaning about the extra superfluous knee joint (or possibly 2 of them) they had; I didn’t even think of this much simpler complaint.

Well, that turned out to be a pile of toss, didn’t it?

Well, that turned out to be a pile of toss, didn’t it?

Just finished it this morning…. Yes… It was pretty damn poor. I don’t know what i was actually expecting, but that really wasn’t it.