Shane’s Reviews > The War of the Worlds > Status Update

Is it better than the movie with Tom Cruise?

Definitely.

Still, I really like the Tom Cruise movie. The book is different in a lot of ways, but the Tom Cruise movie does preserve most of the major ideas. So you'll recognize things from the movie that exist in some form in the book.

They're definitely different beasts though. The book is slower and more thoughtful, and it builds to the martians climbing in your windows snatching your people up. The movie seemed to span a few days and the martians are blasting and snatching people the whole time. I guess it's like most movies and books. The book has room to breathe and explore. The movie has to run as fast as it can, with time to do little more than small observations.

Finally, I really enjoy some of the observations on religion and God. "He is not an insurance agent."