Fairly entertaining with many flaws and a poor-rushed ending

Rating: 5/10 (3 July 2005)

(contains minor spoilers) The movie is called War of the Worlds. But it is more like Invasion of Earth as you only see destruction and mayhem caused by one side..not really a war between two worlds..
With that aside, the movie is quite good. It has some of the best special effects. Tom Cruise gave a good performance. The direction was pretty good.
What disappointed me, was that half way through the movie i realized that this is just a 'chase movie' where Cruise and his two kids just run out from one situation to another..The first few situations are suspenseful and done well. Then it started getting tiresome and predictable..
The ending to me was just rushed. The explanation that was given in the end of the movie was poorly done as though the crew did not know how to end the movie and came up with something at the end just for the sake of ending the movie. Some people might remember Shyamalan's 'The Signs' where the aliens are threaten by water..Whether people like Signs or not, Shyamalan was trying to prove a point that sometimes things happen for a reason. And he was able to build that up from the beginning of the movie to his conclusion. But don't expect any themes that can spark any level of intellectual discussions in the War of the Worlds.
I am sure people can enjoy the movie despite its flaws and its ending. But i am sure some people may find it disappointing that this movie is just 2 hours of running and just to show off new special effect technologies.