Very Disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2005)

OK, this was an exercise in two movies...the first half being riveting, intense and genuinely well directed. The second half is rehashed Jurassic Park cheap setup thrills, incredible suspensions of disbelief and a very rushed and hacked on ending. I say this not because I did not know the ending...most of us do, but because it was even more abrupt and disorienting than the book and the original '54 film, almost tacked on.
What's worst are the many...and I mean many plot holes...I won't go into them but there are things that happen in this film that make no sense within the guidelines of the world Spielberg has created...rule #1 of films...you can bend the rules of the real world, but adhere to them within your own film and no one will buy it...he broke that rule.
As far as entertaining...yes it was, but after-wards I found myself very upset at how much of a missed opportunity this was. It was not bad but so filled with holes it annoyed me when thinking back over the film.
The effects are top notch. I mean top...the tripods themselves are so realistic I could swear they were models...they have none of the typical glossy CGI look to them, especially when shown in broad daylight with sun reflecting off of them. The only effects I did not enjoy were the tentacle arms in the basement scene (which incidentally lasts wayyyy too long, cops most of its choreography from Jurassic Park and is just plain silly)...as well as the aliens themselves. We did not need to see them at all and when we did they were a let down...but those tripods were insanely realistic.
All in all, a fun movie, but certainly not the triumph critics would have you believe. Not sure why but this and Land of the Dead are getting great reviews. Land of the Dead just plain stunk and this one is a major letdown yet critics adore them...hmmm, could they be trying to get more butts in the seats based on the long slump the box office has been in???