For many years, science fiction has been a genre through which many people can express their imaginations about what technology could evolve to or what might be beyond our planet. Within the past few decades, much of this has been devoted to positive interactions with extraterrestrial life, such as “Star Wars” and “Star Trek,” there was a time particularly during the 1950’s where outside forces were regarded with suspicion and fear. Among the many films illustrating this fear was the 1953 film “War of the Worlds.” Based on the classic book by H.G. Wells, this movie follows the point of view of Dr. Clayton Forrestor (Gene Barry), a former member of the Manhattan Project as he goes through the invasion of Earth by aliens from Mars who are far more advanced than humans using technology such as heat rays and shielding.

What makes this movie stand out from others of its time is how for a 50’s movie, the special effects are extremely well developed. At the time this movie was made, violence was being toned down and thus one would think because of that the disintegration scenes from the heat ray would be cut out as it is rarely a nonviolent means. However, they manage to pull it off through a series of tricks including flashes of sparks along with incredible fade outs. In addition, the view of the invaders’ spacecraft is extremely well done, as they are very simplistic in design (basically a flying saucer with a stalk growing out of it). Having said that, the rest of the movie is a little over the top: some of the acting is really hokey and there are a few scenes which you can tell are poorly put together.

While not exactly a masterpiece, “War of the Worlds” still makes for a good guilty pleasure film and for any sci-fi diehard is a must see.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5