E.T.'s Revenge

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2005)

Without a doubt, 'War of the Worlds' has to be Spielberg's best THRILLER since 'JAWS'. Yes, that's right, this movie has a little bit of sci-fi, and a little bit of a "coming of age" theme, but it's hardly an action flick, and I believe that's why most movie goers get disappointed by the outcome. The friend I went with felt the movie didn't satisfy her expectations, since she was expecting a more 'Independence Day' kind of movie and be amazed by incredible destruction scenes, but fortunately for me Spielberg gave a different approach to the story.
WOTW, it's a darker and earthlier view of an alien invasion where Spielberg take us deep into the story of the Ray Ferrie's family struggle to escape a "war", that seems more like an extermination. The movie is fast paced and gives no chance for explanations, for questions like "Why are the aliens here? What do they want? Where do they come from?" the answer is "Who cares?? Start running if you want to survive", just like it would happen in real life, and I believe that's where the greatness of this movie relies.
The realism in the film is top notch to a scary level, to the point of feeling that you're actually in the story, running away with the Ferries escaping from those evil tripods and this is supported by the visual effects that are so well crafted that you can't tell where they are, (unlike 'ROTS' which almost looks like an animated film), and the character development is very simple, but also well done, since Tom Cruise plays a "regular guy" a mere John Doe that even when he is the protagonist of the story, he is not the protagonist of the events surrounding him, which gives the viewer a fairest chance to relate with the character.
And even when the ending is more of a conclusion than a climax, it kept the realistic and disturbing atmosphere of the story making it coherent and true to the novel. Even when the movie it's flawed, at the end I must say I enjoyed the ride very much and would positively recommend it if you're looking for a flick with intense suspense in it (ala 'Signs' meets 'Dawn of the Dead'), but be aware if you're looking for an action movie, this may disappoint you.