Dread reckoning

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2005)

Dread.A continuous sense of ever increasing dread is the driving force within War of the Worlds. Long before any invader is shown, you are gripping the arms of your seat, and slowly pushing back away from the attack you know is coming. And when the attacks begin, you find that you aren't quite ready for this type of film as a summer blockbuster.
But then again,director Spielberg has not been the same director once he finally directed the film he tried to avoid doing for years. Schindler's list could be the considered the A.D. period of the director's career,the initials standing for "always darker". Yes, he does insist still on the sugar coating at the end, but not before he has served you a heaping bowl of unfrosted shredded wheat covered with a heaping helping of wheat germ. But you know, the effects of his dish are very cinematic ally cleansing.
Dakota Fanning is as eerily excellent on screen as Cruise's daughter, and Cruise is in fine form. Tim Robbins was a welcome sight, though the basement sequence was a little windy. It's a good thing this film did not hit theaters until some time had passed from the events of 9/11. Even with the passing of time,this film strikes painfully close to the heart of our emotions of the unspoken dread of that time. When the children ask "Is it terrorist?", you can sense a dull ache of pain past brush your mind.
The effects are nearly perfect, existing only to serve the story. The van travel scene is impossibly brilliant, with the camera panning,zooming,assisting the tense narrative. This film is the anti-Close Encounters, and after seeing this film "We are not alone" will sound like some horrible threat.