Puts the fiction back in science fiction...

Rating: 4/10 (26 February 2006)

For entertainment value, I guess this has some endearing qualities as my wife and I were able to exchange comments throughout the movie about its absurdity. Considering the caliber of Spielberg, you would expect higher expectations and somewhat of a tenable premise. Tom Cruise, who could have easily surrendered this role to Ben Afleck, Carl Lewis, or a tomato can, somehow is able to overcome challenges that no one else on the planet is able to accomplish. He is the only person able to have a working civilian vehicle, to slice a monster's tentacle, and to blow up a 'tripod' that the entire US military forces are unable to defeat. There is a reason that War of the Worlds was perfect for radio. Even in this case it is best treated as theater of the mind. The special effects are excellent and carry through well in surround sound, but that still is not enough to dedicate 2 hours of your life for.