worst Spielberg in 20 years

Rating: 4/10 (29 June 2005)

OK, so I haven't gotten soft. This is easily Spielburg's worst film in 20 years, if not his weakest work ever (1941 not included, I think everyone let that one slide). What little interest the film creates in the viewers in the first ¼ of the film, mostly by sight and sound, quickly disintegrates into a complete mess of failed characters, character arcs, and writing. The special effects and camera work were OK, but nothing compared to Minority Report. Tom Cruise is terribly miscast as a dock worker and the world's worst father, Tim Robbins character has no reason to be in the movie, and Dakota fanning just screams for and hour and a half. The ending, which was pushing it when it was originally read in 1896 just comes up lamer here, with a sappy Hollywood touch that doesn't even try to mean anything but make you feel good. There are three signs that this was a sub-par movie. 1) is that it was boring, I saw people look at their watches a number of times, and a couple even went out to take a cell phone call. 2) The biggest, is making you miss other movies that are better. Signs still is the best alien invasion movie, any of the "Dead" movies are better end of the world films. This made me even want to watch Independence Day, or the 1950's version of War of the World's, both pretty mediocre films. 3) I noticed flubs as the film went. If all of the electronic devices won't work how is a guy tape recording it? As well as just some stupid logic that somehow no one seemed to think twice about