Meh...

Rating: 5/10 (23 April 2008)

Ooooohhh where do I start? First off, the bad kids already make you hate the characters. You hate the kids for acting like spoiled brats and you hate the parents for letting them. Just because your parents are divorced doesn't mean you start acting like you're in charge. The older one didn't listen and the little girl made so much noise I just wanted to punch her. And Tom Cruise acts like it's all his fault. Some of it is his fault for letting them behave this way.
Anyways, back to the movie. The aliens are great. They don't miss a beat. But here we go with the bad children CONTINUING to be bad. Dakota won't stop screaming. I know she's got a 'condition' but a few slaps in the head will fix that. And some of her whining had nothing to do with her condition. That "I WANT MOOOOOMM TAKE ME TO MOM!!!!" bit was all her and that would have gotten her a foot up her butt in MY car. I would have given her a reason to cry with THAT performance because I don't tolerate children who misbehave, even in extreme situations. And then when they get to their parents' house, they continue moaning and groaning about things and expecting Dad to fix everything. Dakota complains about being allergic to peanut butter. Hey Dakota, instead of complaining how about you say "That's okay Dad I'll get it. You relax". Even if he said no, at least she took SOME initiative to act like she cared. It hardly takes a 6 year old to see that her father was stressed out. It kills me.
Then they don't listen. Dakota wanders off to pee after her father TOLD her to stay close. Because of this, she sees the lake of dead people and almost has another fit. This is why you listen you stupid little girl! And she always asks the questions. "Why are those people dead dad? Can't you help them?" Sweetie you just SAW what happened when people took over the mini van. Helping people when they are in a state of panic is not a smart thing to do. It gets dangerous and your life is at stake. You want daddy to risk his life because you feel sorry for them? To Hades with that.
Then the son all of the sudden wants to join the fight. You know what I say to that? Go. You wanna fight? Go. I'm not going to try and stop my son from fighting aliens when we clearly see that not even missiles can penetrate their shields. And that whole speech about Dad only caring about himself? It's TRUE! Heck if I had children (and bad children at that) I'd find a place for them to stay that I think would be safe so I could look after myself as well. That boy thinks he said something. Please. That's what all people who are use to being on their own think. He ain't said nothing' but a word. If he wants to die that's fine but I will not risk my life or my daughter's life to save someone who doesn't want to be saved.
And don't even let me get started on the basement scene. Never in my life have I wanted to scream so much. Why can't people just be still? People can't go from one corner to another. They've got to knock a whole shelf of pots and pans and glass down. And of course we've got Farmer Ted who feels he can beat the entire alien species with a single shot gun. I'm glad he died. And that leg sliding with Dakota just makes me hate her character even more.
Honestly, it' very tough to get into the story when you can't connect with the characters. VERY tough. The only reason I'm giving it a 5 is because of the aliens and the killing. There were some plot holes but I won't get into that. The characters are enough to convince someone to stay away from this movie.