Popcorn Seller

Rating: 3/10 (3 July 2005)

I was really looking forward to this. The trailer was excellent and boded well for the film. Unfortunately I left the cinema very disappointed.
I'm not a nit picker and on the whole enjoy many Steven Spielberg (and Tom Cruise) films but there were plot holes all over the place in this one. On top of this the dialogue and acting weren't good enough to make me believe in the characters. Worst of all was the moment the son, "Robbie", decided he wanted to watch some aliens zapping humans rather than stick with his father and particularly his sister who he was supposed to care about.
The tedious alien mechanical eye on a bendy telescope was laughable as was Tim Robbins character in the same time of the film. An absolute waste of time and space in which the story went nowhere.
I don't mind suspending belief in terms of little green men and tripod craft but I do when it comes to characters who seem as cardboard as the sets in "Plan 9 from Out Space".
It was nice to see when Cruise got to Boston that his ex-wife's relatives had their Sunday best on. Not a mark on them either.
On the positive side it did have some jumpy moments throughout but that didn't make up for a very poor film. One which had enormous potential but was ultimately little more than a popcorn seller.