Spielberg, what have you done?

Rating: 1/10 (5 November 2007)

On September 11th, we all watched as the two towers came tumbling down. We were all affected in some way. Those who are in the creative fields looked at the world and saw something they wanted to capture. Spielberg thought he'd make a poignant look at the American family in the days following the crisis.
So. War of the Worlds. A movie that lacks any sort of subtlety (like most Spielberg films). From the grey ash, to the terror in the streets, to Dakota Fanning shouting "Terrorists!" every five minutes. We are looking at people reacting to something horrific. People under pressure. People doing what they can to make the best out of the situation.
Though since Tom Cruise's character, Jay, is always on the forefront. He's not an average American or the working class guy they make him out to be. He's too in the know. It's easy to see how poor his relationship with his kids is, because they say it. Over and over again. As I mentioned, this movie lacks subtlety. Still, he's one of the witnesses to the attack. After seeing something hit the ground, and a large "Tripod" emerge, he automatically knows everything about it's origin. How does he know everything? How was he able to piece all of it together? An average family in this situation would be in the basement, hiding, and fleeing. Just as confused, trying to make sense of it all. Instead, he's got all the information and he's even fighting Aliens that the entire U.S. Army couldn't scratch.
This is thematically different from any incarnation of War of the Worlds that has been done. I don't mind differences between books, or other films. Thing is, I should still be able to watch this, not knowing anything about it, and be able to say, with no question in my mind "This is War of the Worlds." Instead, I start thinking "Is this War of the Worlds, or Independence Day?"