MovieChat Forums > The War of the Worlds (1953) Discussion > The ending was too abrupt and felt like ...

The ending was too abrupt and felt like a cop out

posted 9 years ago by Gwasgray
13 replies | jump to latest

After I watched it I looked up the HG Wells novel on Wikipedia and the plot summary says the cause of death for the Martians was the same (they have no tolerance for Earth's germs) but the way the film handled just felt way too abrupt - the humans are all cowering in a church as the Martians are marauding down the streets, the end is nigh... then they crash and die! Then the narrator explains it was the bacteria that got them. The End.

Instead of going through the usual stages when living things contract an illness, getting sick and weak and gradually dying, the Martians seemed to skip all this, going from being alive and able to pilot their craft and blow things up to keeling over and dying.

It was almost like that bit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "...then suddenly the animator suffered a fatal heart attack! The cartoon peril was no more."

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] bbclark3 9 years ago

I agree with you that they should have gone through the stages of death of the Martians on screen.. But the ending was genius. Nuclear bombs, war planes, and everything else we had as weapons couldn't kill them...Who would have known they'd be wiped out by common bacteria..I guess they were more like humans after all. They just weren't used to our diseases.

[–] Bowserb46 9 years ago

Since the movie did not follow the war from the point of view of the Martians, we do not really know what was going on prior to their demise. They could have been getting sick early on, but their Martian/Communist leaders do not accept failure due to a little head cold, so they continued with the mission, until they finally we're all but dead and then died in their crashed machines. With a limited budget there wasn't time for someone to notice that a machine here or there seemed to crash, so one crashed right outside the church. Game over.

[–] prplayer 8 years ago

the ending is the definition of a "Deus Ex Machina"

so many movies, so little time

[–] strntz 8 years ago

the ending is the definition of a "Deus Ex Machina"

Indeed.

I remember the first time I saw this and wondered after the nukes failed how the hell Earth would be saved. We saw a glimmer of hope when they attempted to try using science instead of blunt military force, and that play went awry when the truck carrying the scientific equipment was looted and the instruments destroyed.

At that point it seemed hopeless. The ending was superb.

Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.

[–] kvnbhovis 8 years ago

Yes, but much more realistic than most of them. Genius ending.

[–] mptxyz 8 years ago

A few minutes earlier we saw the people in the church praying for a miracle. Then the Martians attacked the church and before they could do much damage they died.

So the prayers had been answered.
I don't think Wells would have liked that.

It was still a brilliant film.

I can't be bothered with a signature

[–] Ite 8 years ago

Wells wouldn't have a problem with that you troll.

[–] mptxyz 8 years ago

A troll is someone who posts inflammatory stuff, just to stir things up,
like someone who starts a conversation with an insult.

You should look in a mirror.

I can't be bothered with a signature

[–] Ite 8 years ago

Wells mentioned religion in the original book you moron. Do some research.

[–] joe_538 8 years ago

The invasion is shown from the human characters' perspective, so we only see the Martians when they do. They could have been getting sick, but pushing on regardless.

[–] hifijohn 8 years ago

the martians would be very different than us,remember their blood was very anemic , so there is nothing wrong with going from healthy to sick to death very quickly.If they got sick over along period of time the first martians to breath our air would have contacted the later one to tell them about the bacteria.