At least the trailer wasn't bad

Rating: 2/10 (2 July 2005)

Spielberg and Cruise reunite for this summer blockbuster which one would expect to be entertaining but not necessarily awe-inspiring. In fact the end product is a massive disappointment with a plot that would struggle to gain any fans were it not for the big names involved.
The central acting performances are OK, although Dakota Fanning is far too mechanical in her delivery of what should have been a very human character. The effects and backdrop is excellent as one would expect and there is some genuine tension created by Spielberg but this is surprisingly lacking in punch and the viewer is more mildly interested than engrossed as they would hope to be. Perhaps a few more viewings of the film will enable me to spot some of the other positives in this remake (the original was no masterclass either it must be said) but I, along with many others left the cinema feeling let down by a man who has failed to produce in recent years (no doubt many will disagree with me on that point).