Not a masterpiece, but still a breathe of fresh air

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2008)

It seems that most people who rate this movie badly went into it expecting a special effects extravaganza, chockablock with wide shots of the monster causing mayhem. If that's what you're looking for, go rent "War of the Worlds" or any of the dozens and dozens of the other disaster/monster movies that have already done it.
While no masterpiece, this movie takes a novel approach to the genre, fully commits to it, and in my opinion, pulls it off very well.
The 9/11 allegory is relatively bland and unimpressive, until the second-to-last scene (the final scene in the story's chronological line). Its raw authenticity is extremely powerful, and for me, ended up raising the whole picture's impact and value considerably.