An unexplicable failure

Rating: 5/10 (19 April 2006)

This is such a disappointment and a prime example of Spielberg's unique ability to fail in an extravagant way. This film should have, by all means been great. Tom Cruise (as much as I don't like the guy) has talent as does fanning and Spielberg can turn out great work when he puts his mind to it so what went wrong? It could have been the shallow characters (the rebellious son, the know it all daughter, the dad seeking redemption etc) or maybe the dominance of the special effects which should enhance the human narrative and never steal the show, Dakota fanning's constant shrieking, one of the most half-baked endings in cinematic history or a combination of all of the above, but regardless, this film failed. It starts off entertaining, and is a somewhat good alien invasion story, but situations become repetitive and more and more unbelievable. You can only watch tom cruise hiding in a basement for so long before you're ready for him to get out there and make this a two sided war but only disappointment awaits the viewer when he finally does. The only thing that redeems this film is a few good special effect shots and a pretty intense chase scene. However, looking at the DVD cover art is still more satisfying than watching the movie.