Not since Pearl Harbor.....

Rating: 2/10 (30 June 2005)

....has there been a bigger let down in regards to a big-budget movie. I wanted to like this movie, I really did. This movie has the actors (Cruise, Fanning, Robbins), it has the director (Spielberg) and it has an often emulated plot that has been around for decades. Sadly, these things are also its downfall. I will keep the spoilers to a minimum however there will be a few. Lets start with the actors... Cruise- Plays a completely unsympathetic character that I wouldn't
have minded seeing get killed in the first few minutes. Fanning-Scream(pre-teen) Queen. Oh yeah and she spouts out new age
healing (hints of Scientology) lines a few times. (They
must start 'em young) Robbins- The most interesting character with the most potential that
gets used the least. Too bad Robbins public anti-Iraqi views
crept into the script with the "Occupations never work' line
Next, Spielberg delivers one of the worst "surprises" that I've seen in years. It's an overly-done, tired, worn out "I'm a character you're supposed to care about that supposedly dies like everyone else around me but pop up at the end for a tearful family reunion". Come on Steven, you're the man who made E.T., Jaws, and 1941...how about some originality?
Lastly, we have the plot. Almost everyone knows the story and it hasn't changed much. But what has is that there's no feeling to it. The family is almost unbelievably dysfunctional. There's nothing shown where you should care about any of the characters. Also, while yes this is a science fiction movie, the suspension of disbelief can't be established. It tells you soon into the movie about electromagnetic pulse bursts that take out everything electronic. Yet, camcorders work....I may be nitpicking at this point but this is one example of a few glaring oversights.
As I said before, I wanted to like this movie but I have to tell everyone, save your money on this one and instead go to Batman Begins or Land of the Dead or even Herbie. That little bug was more likable than anyone in Spielbergs world....
Oh yeah, it gets a 2 for some decent special effect shots