Written by Old Bluffer 13th Jul 2005
Tim Robbins was almost a spark of interest in a film distinguished by a bland and unsympathetic cast of characters. Playing an unhinged survivalist intent on gaining revenge on the alien invaders, we had high hopes of him going out in a Blaze of Glory. He was even toting an axe and shotgun at one point, while his basement shelter was swarming with aliens, but we are sad to report that the predictable death did not occur.
Instead, Tom Cruise stops him going on a berserk blood frenzy and later, once the aliens are all gone, decides to kill him himself behind a closed door. The door is closed so as not to send his irritating daughter (Dakota Fanning, q.v.) into yet another screaming fit.
There was absolutely no need to kill old Ogilvy by the way. The only purpose in staying in the basement was to use it as a base to attack the aliens. If Ferrier wasn't interested in this suicidal plan he could have just taken his hateful whelp and left.
Don't expect DVD grabs for this death as I won't be wasting my money.
I see your point; yet Cruise's decision was motivated by the fact that the Robbins character was expressing a desire to sexually attack Cruise's daughter. Since Cruise can't be sure of his own survial, and since Ogilvy is crazed and may give everything away, Cruise kills him. With tripods everywhere, Cruise couldn't leave with his whelp quite so easily.
A dumb film, still.
Well the guy was insane...you know? He thought he could kill one of those things with a shotgun for God's sake! Besides anyone who discriminates "War of the Worlds" Deserves to be shot and mutilated.
What makes you think Harlan couldn't kill an alien with his shotgun? Or do you mean one of the walker thingies?
This one really needs the addition of the Offscreen Killing category.
Matt - Agreed in full
Nerfmeister - Yeah, I'm pretty sure if he killed one of the things then the others would guess something was wrong and kill him with one of the tripods
Plus, this guy was yelling up a storm and might of attracted the aliens.
when me and a few of my friends watched this movie we laughed so hard when this guy came up he's so funny ya know he's just running around in the basement screaming "they aint gonna get my blood" he's awsome and the best part of the movie
Why did his surname have to be Ogilvy? The one name from H.G. Wells' novel they bother using and they give it to this nutcase? In Wells' novel, the name "Ogilvy" belongs to a scientist who is a friend and colleague of the story's unnamed narrator. Dr. Ogilvy leads the initial attempt to make friends with the Martians, and gets fried.
This Ogilvy plays like a combination of multiple characters. His survivalist fantasies which tend to border on the offensive and loopy are a definite nod to the unnamed artilleryman the narrator encounters. His gradual loss of sanity and the fact he is trapped in a house with the main character are a nod to the unnamed curate the narrator hides with and ultimately kills. Meantime, his efforts at digging out of the house are, weirdly, taken from the novel's narrator, who, whilst hiding with the curate, does actually try to dig a tunnel through the cellar.
So no less than four of the book's characters were used in creating Tim Robbins' character: the narrator's friend Dr. Ogilvy, the artilleryman, the curate and the narrator himself.
Finaly im not the only one, This guy was horny for the little girl thats it biggest motivation to kill and why not its the end of the world but not rly.
Did any one notice the pic of the little girl in the basment that cruise daughter picks up. Was ogilvy chimo