There were brief moments - very brief moments - of enjoyment.

Rating: Null/10 (6 March 2004)

There are major spoilers in this post, so if you mind, for heaven's sake, scroll on by. (Also please take note: The following is merely my opinion, and is only meant as such.)
This is probably one of the most derivative movies I've ever seen. I recognized, in it, bits of X-files, War of the Worlds, Night of the Living Dead, and Morons from Outer Space.
Gibson, who for the first 2/3 of the movie has evidently been directed to behave in the "Kevin Coster No-Expression School of Acting" does a good job of portraying a zombie. His brother -- once the audience is even allowed to know who this guy is -- looks like he could be Gibson's son. In fact, I was mystified by the relationships among these two and the children for the longest time. I even thought maybe the female cop was Gibson's daughter. Then, toward the end, Gibson shows a spark of animation -- as "spark" is related to "atom bomb explosion" -- then lapses back into zombie-land.
These aliens were definitely not the sharpest knives in the universe, coming to Earth, which is predominantly made of water, to eat people, who are predominantly made of water, then choosing the SMALLEST humans, who would probably make a few snacks, but not a real meal. Evidently the aliens, while they were "probing" Earth for information had overlooked the fact that water does them irreparable harm. Also, if they can be done in with a baseball bat, what about missiles? Do missles just bounce off? How about a shotgun? And what was up with wood being a problem for them? Wood is DRY! Cornstalks have water in them -- not wood planks.
One good thing about this problem with water -- Seattle was safe; so, most likely were coastal cities and the cities around the Great Lakes.
As a writer, I had a real problem with the viewpoints used in this movie. The audience, for example, is left hanging at one point, staring up a staircase for what seems an eternity while indistinct noises came from upstairs. This wasn't suspenseful -- it was boring. It's no wonder the characters slept for 12 hours. (12 hours? How could they sleep at ALL with aliens trying to break into the house? Did Gibson's character, perhaps, have a narcoleptic response to extreme stress?)
There are several instances where the audience doesn't even know as much as the characters. This works fairly well in a mystery novel, but if an author wrote something like, "The father walked upstairs to investigate. There were noises. The stairs were empty. More noises disturbed the silence. The staircase was still empty." the novel would never get past the slushpile.

Then, for no apparent reason -- at least not one that had anything to do with the plot -- we are treated to the alien's viewpoint as he merely stares, in the best tradition of heroines being menanced by a monster, while water descends, sending him to his doom. We, as the audience, are thinking, "Ah - THAT saved them some special effects money!"
I'm not sure why the writer wanted us to know this invasion was similar to War of the Worlds. I'd already had that thought and knew that whatever killed off the aliens was going to be something very simple and stupid. And just what did those people in the "remote villages" who discovered how to defeat the aliens do that was so mysterious? Did they have primitive garden hoses? Why didn't the TV people just say, "WATER HURTS AND KILLS THE ALIENS!" You'd think this would be news to share, not keep to one's self.
I was somewhat offended at the implication that the audience was so simplistic and willing to suspend their disbelief that they wouldn't notice all the movie's problems. I could go on and on about the inconsistencies, bad writing, bad directing and so-on, but you're probably already nodding off.
Suffice to say, I won't be rushing off to see the next movie this fellow does.