17. War of the Worlds
Steven Spielberg flips the narrative on his previous sci-fi films, showing aliens not as benevolent explorers and lovable puppets but as towering figures of death and destruction, creating a surprisingly bleak update of the classic H.G Wells novel. Although overall War of the Worlds is a very good film, its inconsistent narrative is partly to blame for the mixed reception it received. The first half of the film is unusual for a modern big-budget sci-fi film, in that the hero is an average guy who cares less about the survival of the human race than he does to get his children reunited with their mother, and many of the set pieces of the first half of the movie are effective and uncompromising. Things begin to unravel in the second half of the movie, becoming disappointingly traditional and finishing with a happy ending that feels slightly forced. Still, Spielberg's directorial flair is on full display here and War of the Worlds is by no means a bad movie. The visuals are sharp, the characters well-defined and the narrative crisp and efficient. It misses out on a chance to become a classic but it remains a very effective, well-assembled piece of sci-fi filmmaking.