ghica

This is a slow and clumsy exercise in pointless violence. Think the rape scene in Clockwork Orange, but decontextualised and extended to feature length. Think poor acting, awkward dialogue and gauche 'metacinematic' features such as characters winking at the camera, referring to the audience and even rewinding the movie for an alternative take.

I read some of the positive reviews but I cannot see any of the redeeming virtues pointed out. The 'analysis of violence' excuse for indulging in carnage is perhaps the most overused in the history of recent cinema. Even if we buy this excuse, it is a poor movie. It is an analysis that doesn't say anything that hasn't been said before. The media angle has been exploited a lot better in movies such as Man Bites Dog (or even its poor rip-off Natural Born Killers).

More bad news: There is a Hollywood remake of this starring Naomi Wats about to be released. Same director.

This is not a movie. This is a collection of random shots taken in a fascinating part of the world, dubbed over with some random text. The footage is not that great and the text is not that great either. The end product is excruciatingly dull.

On the DVD, turning the commentary on can provide some entertainment value, as the director makes a rather deranged argument that this is a sci-fi movie. It's also fascinating to read about the extraordinary risks and hardship that the crew endured to collect this footage. Too bad it's rubbish. But I think "The Making of Fata Morgana" would be a fascinating film, sort-of like 'Ed Wood" was.

This is typical Spielberg fare: an enjoyable but ultimately unsatisfying ride. Spielberg is the opposite of the "flawed genius". He is the perfect mediocrity.

This movie, like most of his previous, is one brilliantly shot and directed scene after another. Unfortunately, that's all that is: one scene after another. Something cool happens, then something scary happens, then something emotional happens. In the end it adds up to nothing. It's disappointing because the individual perfection of each scene tricks you into expecting something Big to happen at the end, which never does. Some kind of Message, some kind of Point, some kind of Thesis that each brilliant scene eloquently argued for. But then, when it ends it just does. And even that, it's not some brilliant meta-message of When It Ends It Just Does, nothing like it. You almost expect Spielberg to pop up after the The End and say "That's all folks, I hope you enjoyed the ride. Stay tuned for more in a year or so." It's dispiritingly vacuous. It's not art, it's circus masquerading as art. I think I may prefer movies such as "Independence Day", more honest about being just circus.

At one point a character says, referring to the alien invaders, "This occupation cannot work, we lived here all our lives, our forefathers lived here, etc" and my years pricked because it's the kind of topical clumsy and transparent metaphor that Hollywood does. Star Wars tried to pack some metaphorical punch, so why not WOTW? I now believe even this was accidental. There was no follow up on.