Excellent acting and pace, awesome disaster effects

Rating: 9/10 (30 June 2005)

I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan or even a Spielberg fan, but this was a great movie. The acting was excellent and the dialog was very REAL. As always, Dakota Fanning is incredible for a preteen. Of course the effects are awesome, especially the sound (things are often HEARD before they are SEEN, if at all). I don't like a lot of characters in my disaster movies, so I was glad this one just focused on Cruise and his two kids. The plot was fairly solid, if you let the occasional "lucky escape" fly (which you must in ANY disaster movie). My only complaint is Robbie's character was poorly developed. His "angsty, jaded teen" portrayal didn't match with his attitude and actions later in the film.