Tons of destruction and Tom Cruise.

Rating: 5/10 (30 July 2006)

War of the Worlds has a very simple plot: Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his daughter, Rachel (Dakota Fanning), are on the run from giant, alien machines that are destroying the earth.
I have to admit, about forty five minutes into this movie I turned to my friend. We immediately broke out in laughter. We weren't laughing because the movie was particularly funny, but because there are only so many ways you can handle epic destruction. And that's what happens throughout the entire film: epic destruction.
Cruise and Fanning are the actors that carry the film. In fact, they are the only actors that you see for more than thirty minutes. I'm usually fan of Dakota, but this was definitely not her best performance. She spent most of the film screaming- and might I add, at the wrong moments. Quite honestly, she got on my nerves. Tom Cruise is a talented actor, and he definitely did more than a good job playing Ray. But after all his huge publicity stunts, he is, admittedly, hard to watch. I found I couldn't really root for their characters.
Yes, this movie has lots of special effects, but none that really impressed me. Most (if not all) of the CGI was used for the alien machines. Personally, machinery has never been very awe inspiring.
While watching this movie, I really had to ask myself: Why am I watching this movie? It isn't uplifting; it doesn't have one happy moment. This movie is unintelligent and unoriginal. Is that really what I want in a summer blockbuster? I would only recommend this movie to people who a) love destruction and b) love Tom Cruise. Because that is essentially what this movie is: Tons of destruction and Tom Cruise.