Sorry Steve, Just Can't Let You Get Away With that Ending ...

Rating: 6/10 (16 July 2005)

This film seems to have everything going for it ... brilliant action sequences, unnervingly horrific scenes, a dab of political commentary and just a smidgen of character development ... make no mistake this is a Spielberg action/sci-fi effort not to be confused with 'serious-Steve' who made Schlinder's List and Saving Private Ryan ... then we come to the end of the film.
WHAT HAPPENED THERE!?! Fair enough this is Hollywood. Maybe everything has to be tied up nicely (perhaps to his credit Spielberg didn't go too over board and totally reunite his on-screen family of the times). Perhaps I would have felt let down with a totally downbeat ending that would have seemingly tied in with the grim tell of survival that had proceeded. The ending though just comes off as rushed, ill-conceived and a total let down. The original Wells' ending could have been handle much more positively ... the final 'battle' scene and subsequence Freeman (king of the v.o.) voice-over just leaves you wondering what really might have been.
What proceeds that though is great entertainment. Popcorn flies through the air, loved-ones cling to each other as Spielberg delivers a series of high-impact shocks and hands are held over eyes waiting for the next jolt ... OK well maybe not quite but this borders on horror at times ... honestly it does! The scene where Cruise ventures out into the newly harvested world of strange vein-like creations is awesome (in the non-surfer and totally intellectual way!) and brilliantly created.
All notions of horror aside this is an action flick dealing with the grim notion of survival at all costs. The first appearance of the 'tripods' is particularly impressive; buildings fall, the earth heaves and people ... well they basically fry! As the story progresses we see Cruise's (he may be a jerk, but he sure does Hollywood blockbuster well) dock worker, Ray, tries to build bridges with his estranged children (awwwee). Eventually we see Fanning's (a talent I'm sure well be hearing about for years and years to come) character become drawn to him, but Justin Chatwin's (just a tad annoying) Robbie relationship with his father is slightly confusing ... just when he seems to have made a connection he runs off to join the army! I guess these are minor details; the real drawing points of this film are Spileberg's use of SFX, the set-ups created for these action scenes and Ray's tale of his grim efforts to save himself and his children. These all hold up well to scrutiny ... but the ending, OH, the ending ...