A cut above the usual sci-fi blockbuster.

Rating: 8/10 (28 February 2006)

Although Steven Spielberg has remained remarkably faithful to the narrative thrust of H.G. Wells' 1898 sci-fi classic, this grim and gritty drama is very much a contemporary vision of alien invasion.
"Is it terrorists?" frets one onlooker as the towering extraterrestrial war machines begin obliterating New Jersey amid scenes eerily reminiscent of 11th September 2001. Much later, another character observes "No occupying army has ever won the war" in an uneasy reminder of the current situation in Iraq.
'Independence Day 2' this is not, with the special effects taking a back seat to the human drama as a neglectful father (Tom Cruise) attempt to reunite his dysfunctional children (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) with his estranged wife (Miranda Otto). With a great performance delivered from Cruise and an even superior one from young Fanning, this really is a cut above the usual sci-fi blockbuster.