Deserves a better rating

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2005)

So there are two reasons why people on this particular website have rated "War of the Worlds" so low:
1. Tom Cruise's off-screen behavior (jumping up and down) doesn't sit well with people.
2. The ending of the movie.
First off, people I know personally disliked the movie. But when I mentioned all of the great scenes, pretty much every scene up until Tim Robbins shows up, they agreed that the movie was very good and the ending ruined it. The first three-quarters of the movie are gripping. I don't think anyone will argue with that. This is something we've never seen in the theaters before. It's not watered down like Independence Day. In this movie, the human race is essentially exterminated.
The acting is superb (Cruise is great as usual, Dakota Fanning really surprised me with her talent). The acting across the board is great. All of the terrified crowds of people are totally realistic. It is very rare in a movie for every single person on screen to be completely believable, including extras, but you can chalk it up to Spielberg.
Everything in this movie is superb up until the final half hour, I don't think that can be argued. Tim Robbins' character is a very believable nut that jeopardizes the safety of the main characters. Many people found his scenes to be very boring, but it was intentional. After all of that chaos and running, Cruise and Fanning find themselves in a dark, quiet room with a stranger who gradually reveals himself to be something of a madman. It is a huge contrast to the rest of the movie.
The ending is really subjective. Whether or not you like it, just remember that for the two hours preceding the ending, you were sucked into the movie. You were gripping the handles of your seat. Does a movie deserve to be rated poorly just because of the last two minutes? That's up to you.