War of the Worlds

How does this 2005 Steven Spielberg film attempt to update the basic storyline from the H.G. Welles novel? What thematic elements does it leave out and why? Does the imagery, reminiscent of news coverage of the 9/11 attacks, convey any important message about that event? How does the film attempt to portray Welles’ meditations on empire or human relations to non-human animals we exploit for food or other purposes? Does it fail to reflect the aspects of the novel that engage the ‘problem of evil?’ How does the history of adaptations of the novel reflect a desire to update the basic storyline with contemporary interests or issues in mind? Does the family dynamic portrayed in the film work? Does the story of the son, Robbie, leave us dangling with his largely unexplained reappearance after having run into a raging battle between Martian tripod machines and US military?