Better Than the Original.

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2015)

War of the Worlds (2005): Dir: Steven Spielberg / Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto: Powerful science fiction film about conflict starring Tom Cruise as a single father who arrives for visitation while his ex-wife heads to Boston. Central plot regards alien spacecrafts that emerge from underground and tower above civilization whereas they vaporize everyone in sight. Steven Spielberg creates tension and suspense in what looks like a reference to the Rapture. This is not his first dealings with aliens arriving on earth. He previously made E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial and the overrated Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Cruise fares well as he now must accept responsibility in a whole new way. Dakota Fanning steals scenes as his daughter. Tim Robbins has an interesting cameo as a man descending from sanity. He hides within a shelter where he invites Cruise and family but he creates whole new problems. Justin Chatwin as Cruise's son is a complete idiot. He is one of these rebellious hateful snot nose teenagers who thinks he knows more than everyone else. His survival is not something viewers will likely applaud and that is unfortunate. Miranda Otto as Cruise's ex-wife is positioned as someone who is not to surface until convenient. Production is electrifying giving Spielberg convincing carnage. The theme asks questions regarding man's superiority. Score: 9 Â½ / 10