Opens well but ends poorly

Rating: 6/10 (1 July 2005)

While it would be unfair to give this movie an entirely bad review, I must say that it is another in a string of Hollywood blockbusters that simply fails to live up to its own potential. And while the first two thirds of the film are actually quite good, there is a distinct point in the movie where it goes irrevocably south and becomes silly and disappointing. The final revelation is so embarrassingly heavy-handed (it has nothing to do with the aliens) and under-explained, the only way to overcome the staggering letdown is to remind ones' self that it is, after all, a Spielberg movie. Naturally, it is going to have an icky-sweet-sentimental ending that makes no sense whatsoever in the context of the story. Since his over-riding theme is about parental responsibility and the importance of family, he has no choice but to show everyone happy and united at the end, even at the expense of forgoing any sense of the movie's own logic and the opportunity for a truly profound and emotional ending. The substitution of a comfortable sentimentality for real emotion at the end is, perhaps, the film's greatest flaw. Alas, not the only flaw, but the others are more forgivable. There is a whole sequence with Tim Robbins that could almost be completely excised without harming the plot, but sadly it contains a few key elements that lead to the awkward and silly climax (though actually the film could lose that whole section and possibly make better sense). While the action is well staged, the effects impeccable, and the bulk of the movie is engaging, at the end it is still a typical disappointment.