**SPOILERS**What is good and bad about this movie**SPOILERS**

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2005)

War of the Worlds has some very good things, and some bad things about it. First the good points. Morgan Freeman's Naration, it was perfect, no one sounds as all knowing as Morgan can, perfect choice. Second, the relationship between Ray and Mary Ann, many movies make one of two mistakes showing divorced couples, one, you wonder why they got married to begin with, or two, you wonder why they split up. With Ray and Mary Ann, you see both. You see the way Ray's little kid attitude drives her nuts, but he can make her laugh. Her nitpicking at him gets him mad, but he likes to see her smile. Then next thing about this movie is Ray and the kids, I can see why Ray acts like he does to his kids, he wants them mad at him, so he can be mad at them, this way he won't miss them so much when they are gone. His kids are caught in the middle of their parents struggle to exist with each other. The fact that the story only deals with Ray's struggle to keep his family together rather then what is going on else where in the country, as well as else where in his family makes the film tighter and more emotionally connected for the viewers. The best thing about the movie though it Dakota Fanning, at 11 she has given more great performances then many actors who have worked longer then she has been alive. All this more then makes up for the one bad thing about the movie, the ending, it ends to nice, with all is well in this family. Ray's son, Robbie leaves him and Rachel, Ray's daughter, to go fight the Aliens, then the whole hill he goes over blows up, Ray tells Rachel that all is fine, Robbie will meet them in Boston, where Rachel's mother and step father are, at Mary Ann's parents home. After struggling with the wonderfully played Ogilvy, where they are hiding out in his basement, he wants to fight the aliens, Ray just wants to keep his daughter alive. After Ray takes care of the threat Ogilvy brings to Rachel's survival, the aliens check out the basement for a second time, this time they see Ray and Rachel, so Rachel runs off while Ray takes care of the aliens probe. Ray then goes to look for Rachel only to see her captured by a tripod. After her rescues her by downing the tripod they head off to Boston once again, when they get their they find the aliens are dying. After the military downs a tripod, Ray and Rachel make it to her grandmother's house to find that Mary Ann was their waiting for them, along with her new husband and her parents, and surprise, surprise, Robbie as well. I think it would be more realistic if when they got their they found it destroyed and realized that the two of them was all they had left.