Independence Day Vs. War of the Worlds

[Slade]

They were both pretty good but I'd have to go with War of the Worlds for the win.

[The Man]

War of the Worlds seemed to me to have two layers to its story, a literal meaning and then a symbolic one which kind of commented on the war on terror. Independence Day did not, although I may have just been too young to pick up on such things the last time I saw it. But regardless, I'd have to go with WotW, although honestly, I think there are far better movies than either.

[udsuna]

Independence day was a comedy. War of the Worlds was a joke.


WotW sucked in ways that I wasn't aware could be possible. The only good thing about that movie was the special effects. Nothing else. Not the plot, not the acting, not the actors. Then again, I really didn't even like the book all that much. All that running around, and bacteria got them?


A better story could have been made if they chose instead to make a documentary about the panic which was caused when they played the story on Halloween, and people actually believed it was real.

[Hawkeye]

I opt for Mars Attacks instead.

I get nightmares from that movie

[Winter Nights]

WotW sucked in ways that I wasn't aware could be possible. The only good thing about that movie was the special effects. Nothing else. Not the plot, not the acting, not the actors. Then again, I really didn't even like the book all that much. All that running around, and bacteria got them?

Can we say "Worst Ending EVER"? These supreme all-knowing beings that schemed their take-over for millions of years couldn't comprehend the concept of bacteria? Not to mention that the movie doesn't have much of a conclusion. It's really abrupt. Their in the thick of it, then it's just over. Just like that.

I opt for Mars Attacks instead.

Now that's an alien movie. Funny as <img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif">.

[Slothy]

War of the Worlds was the better movie by leaps and bounds if you ask me. I watched some of ID a few months back on TV. I've come to the conclusion that I really do need to be 10 years old again if I ever want to watch it in the future. It's saving grace is that I get to watch the whitehouse get blown up. I just think that for the most part, WotW did have a better story, better acting, and as much as you may think that the aliens in that movie dying from bacteria makes no sense, the whole computer virus disabling the alien ships was worse if you ask me.

[Old Manus]

Alien ships use Windows 95, that is why they failed

[Shoden]

In WotW the aliens were killing humans and making the plants to try and develop an immune system for earth but they failed and died.

[The Man]

It's actually very realistic that the aliens would die from infection if they had utterly removed diseases from their culture, which given their advanced level of technology is quite likely. It's very similar to the reason so many Native Americans died of disease when the Europeans came to America; they didn't have any defenses against the Europeans' diseases.

granted, it's a pretty clich&#233;d ending now, but that's only because everyone and their mother copied H.G. Wells.

[Itsunari 2000]

Independence Day sticks in my mind for the speech the President makes before he goes up in a fighter jet to take on the aliens ... for all the wrong reasons of being drenched in over-zealous gung ho American pride.

[Ishin Ookami]

War of the Worlds was horrible and ripped alot of stuff from Independance Day to begin with. Pacing was off, all of the characters were annoying, and the ending just sucked.

Independance Day, while not a brilliant movie, managed to be likable. So.. Yah.

This may shock you, but Independence Day was actually a rip off of War of the Worlds, the original 1953 film which was an adaption of the late 19th century novel.

And I do like the idea of bacteria killing the aliens. Towards the end the novel takes on a bit of religious tone, there is a character who is a clergyman who looses his mind due to the destruction and innenant extinction of the human race, and he sacrifices himself to the aliens thinking they are gods sent to punish the human race for their sins. The bacteria saving the human race was supposed to be interpreted of a sort of humbling revelation, when all of mans vaunted science and knowledge failed, the smallest and simplest of gods creations was what saved humanity. The original film, while adding a pretty hawkneyed romantic subplot still managed to recreate the tenseness of the book, as humanity falls into despair and turns on itself, and how a single scientist realized that knowledge, not military might was the key to fighting the aliens. last summers abomination starring tom cruise should in no way have been called WOTW. I dont care how deep the aliens vessels were buried, shifting of the earths crust along with technological decay over millions of years would have had some effect on their machines. And the whole point of the film, about becoming a better dad in the face of global extinction just ran counter clockwise to the philosophical and intellectual tones of the prior movie adaption and novel. so yah, I hated it.

Independence day wasnt exactly Dickens either, but at least it knew where it stood and just tried to be entertaining. Which it did.

[Winter Nights]

This may shock you, but Independence Day was actually a rip off of War of the Worlds, the original 1953 film which was an adaption of the late 19th century novel.

And I do like the idea of bacteria killing the aliens. Towards the end the novel takes on a bit of religious tone, there is a character who is a clergyman who looses his mind due to the destruction and innenant extinction of the human race, and he sacrifices himself to the aliens thinking they are gods sent to punish the human race for their sins. The bacteria saving the human race was supposed to be interpreted of a sort of humbling revelation, when all of mans vaunted science and knowledge failed, the smallest and simplest of gods creations was what saved humanity. The original film, while adding a pretty hawkneyed romantic subplot still managed to recreate the tenseness of the book, as humanity falls into despair and turns on itself, and how a single scientist realized that knowledge, not military might was the key to fighting the aliens. last summers abomination starring tom cruise should in no way have been called WOTW. I dont care how deep the aliens vessels were buried, shifting of the earths crust along with technological decay over millions of years would have had some effect on their machines. And the whole point of the film, about becoming a better dad in the face of global extinction just ran counter clockwise to the philosophical and intellectual tones of the prior movie adaption and novel. so yah, I hated it.

Independence day wasnt exactly Dickens either, but at least it knew where it stood and just tried to be entertaining. Which it did.

Yes, I know that War of the Worlds was a remake and that Independance Day was inspired by the original. That's not quite what I meant. It wasn't really plot points that bugged me, it was shots in WotW that seem to mimc frame-for-frame shots in ID. Like Spielberg was watching ID while shooting, for ideas.

And the bacteria bit probably wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so abrupt. The aliens just start dying, then a narrator tells you what happened.

As for the characters. None of them were remotely likable. At the beginning of the movie, Tom Cruise is an asshole who has no clue or interest in his two kids, who are equally irritating. At the end, Tom Cruise is still an asshole, but he likes his kids now.

(SPOILER)Another plot point I didn't like was the murder of Tim Robbins' character. There was no other option to be had? Knock him out, tie him up, and gag him? That seems like it may work. No, Tom Cruise's first instinct is to kill him. Not only is it unnecessary, it makes you dislike Cruise's character even more. And yes, I understand that the guy was making a bunch of noise and Tom was scared for his daughter. But for murder to be his first thought is a little disturbing.

[edczxcvbnm]

I like Independence Day better because if was more of my 'pace' of movie. It just flowed the way I like things to flow and it wasn't too serious.

The bacteria/virus was bad at the end of both movies. The computer virus even more. How do we know that their technology is the same as ours. How do you destroy the OS that you have never seen. How does their file structure work? Too many bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> stuffs.

The bacteria I can see but only if the Aliens were that stupid and ignorant...which they couldn't be because they have mastered inter-galactic travel. I view that as almost a huge gapping plot hole.

[Randgris]

War of the World stinks...

I find the story dificult to understand. Plus It's too damn dark.

[Winter Nights]

I like Independence Day better because if was more of my 'pace' of movie. It just flowed the way I like things to flow and it wasn't too serious.

The bacteria/virus was bad at the end of both movies. The computer virus even more. How do we know that their technology is the same as ours. How do you destroy the OS that you have never seen. How does their file structure work? Too many bull<img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"><img src="/xxx.gif"> stuffs.

The bacteria I can see but only if the Aliens were that stupid and ignorant...which they couldn't be because they have mastered inter-galactic travel. I view that as almost a huge gapping plot hole.

Yes.. But, you could forgive the virus in ID for the shear fact that the movie was just a popcorn flick and it knew it. WotW is supposed to be dark and serious. But, how can you take it seriously when the writers obviously didn't?