Best Summer Movie-Period

Rating: 6/10 (28 June 2005)

The first time I saw this film was at an advanced screening. I came out thinking to myself "That was certainly different to what I had in mind". Overall I thought it was quite good, with moments of excellence, but I didn't really believe that it was one of Spielbergs best.
I saw it again last night at the midnight premiere and obviously knew what kind of film to expect this time. Upon second viewing I came out a blabbering mess! I LOVED it.
This is the one we've been waiting for, Spielberg fans rejoice! This film is a mixed bag of goodies! From the emergence of the first tripod we are catapulted in to intense action. We follow Ray (Cruise) and his family through the narrow escape from the city to the nail biting suspense of the Ferry scene ( you just know somethings going to happen!). And then just when you think things are going to jump up a notch to a full fledged battle between Tripod and Humans, Spielberg works his magic and brings us in to the dank, dark basement of Ogilvy (Robbins). The action jumps down a notch while the suspense sky rockets! A very tense scene in the basement pits Ray and Co. against a wandering Alien camera probe, made 100 times more suspenseful by John Williams' chilling, unfriendly score. For those Jurassic Park nuts (like me), your going to LOVE this scene! (Think "Raptors in the kitchen" scene from JP!).
I would love to write more, but words simply cannot explain the feeling of absolute desperation and loss you will get from this film. Just go and see it! Ladies and gentlemen, this is NOT another "Effects movie", this is a Steven Spielberg film. Better still: A Steven Spielberg ALIEN INVASION movie! What more could you ask for? I'm giving it 9 out of 10 only because it didn't have the "wow, look at those special effects!" factor that Jurassic Park did when it premiered in '93.