Flawed but fantastic

Rating: 7/10 (21 August 2005)

There are really 2 movies here, both are vignettes, and one is much better than the other. One story is a surprisingly believable update of HG Wells classic novel, shown as a 'road movie' thru the eyes of Tom Cruise. He does panic well, although Dakota Fanning steals the entire movie from under him. It really works on your nerves the first time you see it. A small note here because I haven't seen it mentioned... John Williams score for this film is his best in a long while. It's wallpaper, and it's perfect. What doesn't work is the character sketch of Cruise's family. Ray is forced to choose between his children during a military strike scene that looks like the CGI guys rushed and it all falls apart right there. This a sci-fi/horror movie- not 'Sophie's choice'. Then the concentration-camp like 'basement' sequence. The inevitable 'give me back my child' action sequence. From here on out it's all CGI, actors and sets and oh, well.
But damn that first hour is good. Those tripods are beautiful and belong to that realm of solid, imposing, realistic looking CGIs.