Good film,not great; almost sullied by needless publicity stunts

Rating: 7/10 (15 July 2005)

I must admit that the main culprits of this film are not the ones at fault--if there is any--if this film has leaks and shortcomings,which I feel like it does have just enough to cut into its value. Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise for their parts do what is fully right and necessary to make this remake of the 1953 movie and 1938 radio play effective,entertaining and disturbing.
To be brutally honest,I've been less than thrilled with the idea of Cruise and Spielberg,both monster egos each,TEAMING to do a movie. Again. Then the three month long publicity crapfest that led up to the show,mostly revolving around Tom Cruise and his love for Katie Holmes(no comment there) and his "crusade" for America's children(read:his crusade for Scientology). Add to that,Paramount/Dreamwork's refusal to screen the movie in advance,and I was less than receptive to the idea of adding my $6 to this. Enough good word from people I knew who saw it and reviewers caused me to cave in.
I think I can say I'm mostly glad I did. Strip away some of the more gruesome images,and this film is basically a long "Chase movie". Dockworker and delinquent dad Ray Ferrier(Cruise) is left alone with his kids while his ex-wife goes up to Boston to be with her folks. Wouldn't ya know it,the alien(Martian perhaps?) tripod destructo-battle ships emerge from the ground and proceed to vaporize and squash everything that runs THAT VERY day. Ray takes his kinder(DAkotah Fanning,the hardest working grade-schooler in showbiz,and Justin Chatwick) and makes a run to Boston,but not without,eh...ahem,problems. Tim Robbins is thrown into the mix(and steals his scenes) as a rapidly deteriorating(mentally)survivor.
This film has no fewer than five logistic and continuity gaps,and it is rife with all the Spielberg trademarks of emotional button-jamming through imagery,but it is still effective and worth a look if(and this is a BIG IF)you're up for it,and not everyone will be.