Nice Family Drama, Terrible Movie

Rating: 2/10 (30 June 2005)

I must say, its nice to see how Tom Cruise develops from a jerk to a good father over the course of the movie but I DON"T REALLY CARE. Steven Spielberg is a great director, but he has let me down. He has turned a fascinating story about humanity on the brink of destruction, and turned it into a bland, PG-13 film. Parents, be sure to take your kiddies.
For those unaware of the story, the plot is simple. Aliens come to earth, kill many. Its funny how those words seem to sum up the whole film. Actually, I would add a few more significant words. Cruise is Jerk. Bonds with family. The End.
Even though I hated the film, I must admit there was a moment that I enjoyed, and superficial as it might have been, I still add a star to give this movie a total of two stars. The moment I am referring to is when the Jerk (AKA Snooze Cruise) is running from the tripods as the pop out of the earth. The tripods start vaporizing people and there is this one scene where a man's horrified expression melts away as he is vaporized. Purely special effects, but still cool.
As I left the theater as soon as the credits began to roll, there was some clapping. I can only theorizes that the clapping came from people, who like me, were thankful the movie was over. My advice, wait until this movie gets dumped into the $2 bin at Wal-Mart...and then shoplift it. Thank you.