A Simply Spectacular Theater Experience

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2005)

If you're like me, you're puzzled and even annoyed at Tom Cruise's recent diatribes regarding psychiatry, postpartum depression, etc.. Clearly his judgment is more than a bit cloudy. However, don't let his outbursts and PDAs cheat you out of an incredible theater experience. See War of the Worlds not for Cruise but for Spielberg, Robbins, Fanning and the work of HG Wells. WOTW is a 2 hour cuticle-devouring ride that is the best bang for your movie buck in a very long time. (I'm not a sci-fi fan, don't like fantasy and have a low tolerance for violence. That having been said, this movie rocked. Plain and simple.)
The underlying theme "They're already here", resonates clearly as we still feel the aftermath of 9/11; references such as "is it the terrorists?" bring that home. The timing of this film's release feels right: brave armed men are seen marching into danger (and in all probability, death) when everyone else is running. Reminiscent of certain NY firefighters, yes? Or on a simpler basis, the US Army in Iraq. Only one little point made me go "huh?" - when Cruise takes on a mob and is the only one with a handgun. Come on! I don't recall HG Wells setting this story in Canada (my homeland). Seems to me everybody would be packing, wouldn't they? Isn't a situation like this exactly what the Constitution had in mind when the right to bear arms was written in? Hmmm.
At any rate, Dakota Fanning is fabulous, Cruise is solid and it's a movie that is well worth the exorbitant ticket price (and that's before the snacks, right?). But see it on the big screen; War of the Worlds should be experienced the good old fashioned way. Thank you Steven Spielberg.