Completely caught by surprise

Rating: 9/10 (13 November 2009)

I did not expect anything of this movie. I hardly knew it was about to be released, and then joked that the only thing Emmerich knows how to do is to destroy things, and as soon as his characters open their mouths, we're in Disneyland.
That may still be true, but boy, is he a master of it!! I am not usually one to run into event movies only to gape at CGI and giving a *beep* about the character and story, but damn, this is one entertaining movie, and I sat through its almost three hours slack-jawed most of the time not believing my eyes.
Emmerich also worked on some of his weaknesses, and while he will never probably never excel as a story-teller or inventor of original, complex characters, his characters in this movie are likable enough to keep you hoping for their survival.
I totally did not see this coming. Nicely done, Roland!!