a visually stunning tale of a family fighting to survive

Rating: 6/10 (8 July 2005)

Truer words have never been spoken."Spielberg will not let you down." War of the Worlds reunites director Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise for a visually stunning tale of a family fighting to survive an all out attack from blood thirsty aliens. The assault leaves even the audience feeling helpless due to the gigantic robots (which have been buried at the Earth's core for millions of years) vaporizing humans and destroying the tallest buildings.
This film has some of the most memorable shots I've ever seen in a movie. I can still feel the chill going down my spine as one of the robots comes over a mountain and looks down at its eventual prey on the dark boat, desperate to leave (Just not fast enough). Spielberg also hits home on some human aspects of disaster, which includes the panic in times of crisis. Even the continuously crying Dakota Fanning, Tom's daughter in the film, feels the wrath of ruthless citizens wanting to steal their transportation. The overall human drama brings back images seen on the news from September 11, 2001.
This is a film that is not strong in story and character development (Tim Robbins has a part that I still cannot figure out), but the special effects will keep your attention as only Steven Spielberg can do. Caution to all claustrophobics out there, some scenes will have you begging for anti-depressants (Despite a severe scorning from Mr. Scientology himself, Tom Cruise).