Visuals and Terror Scenes Overcome The Mundane

Rating: 7/10 (3 December 2008)

War of the Worlds is a visually stunning and ultimately terrifying film about encounters with ruthless invaders. While I praise this film for the alien scenes and plot, the rest is so mundane and negative that it almost ruins the movie.
The movie introduces is to Ray (Tom Cruise) and his ex-wife and kids. He is to watch the kids while his ex-wife is away for the weekend. During this time, Ray encounters a massive and strange electric storm and later on discovers it triggered massive machines buried underground that start destroying or harvesting man.
I have to say that the first encounter with the tripod is an amazing scene. When it finally stands erect and emits it's terrifying sound before battle, I couldn't help but feel an immense dread at the events that were to lie ahead. This is very effective movie making and right away put me in the place of the characters.
The film basically tries to top each encounter and it succeeds nicely. The next time we see a Tripod, it stands ominously over a town near the ferry. Once again, we hear the terrifying battle call of the tripod before it attacks and the panic swells. Moving on, we are treated with a Tripod under the water and then an amazing scene of several of them wrecking havoc on the town and people running for safety. The next time we see them is one of the most bizarre and terrifying moments in the movie, as they emit even stranger sounds as they do something to the soil for long periods of time. This mechanical noise as they did this was very unsettling and could drive anyone to panic. Beyond the probe and alien scenes (which were also effective), we are treated up close and personal to the cage and the organic looking insertion tube where the humans are processed. This is all amazingly good and terrifying stuff.
As far as the rest of the film, the characters are just not likable to care much about. Yes, I know there is divorce in the world but why do we always need broken marriages in movies? Ray isn't a likable guy and despite his heroics, he still doesn't come across as anything but a loser even at the end of the film. The family scenes, the crowds scenes and the driving scenes were pretty bland and just didn't do much for me. The TV reporter scene (at the plane crash) was very strange and badly acted and only served to help further the plot some. And the scene with Tim Robbins, outside the alien stuff, was just lacking. And the decision for Ray to kill him was just so out there. I know that may be a horror of war but it just didn't seem right. A good smack on the head or something might have sufficed.
The alien attack scenes were very effective and stayed with me for a long time and that carried the movie over the mundane family scenes. That alone makes this movie one of the best alien invasion movies ever made.