Good but I expected so much more.

Rating: 7/10 (2 August 2005)

Well, of all this year's "Summer Blockbusters" (Mr & Mrs Smith, Fantastic Four, Batman Begins etc) this was the one I was most looking forward too, Aliens attacking Earth-you can't go wrong. We had independence Day which for all its jingoism it was still great fun, so my hopes for War Of The Worlds were high, very high.
First the good news. The special effects are superb as the Tripods leave a trail of destruction wiping out buildings and incinerating people on the spot.
Now the bad news. There aren't nearly enough battle scenes, we get a sense of the carnage taking part as the Army get obliterated by the superior technology of the Tripods but never see a full on battlefield.The main characters are a pretty loathsome bunch, Cruise is a hopeless father, his son a typical moody teenager and Tim Robbins play's a mad 'hermit', you hope these people get an anal probe from a 'Martian'-or worse! Only the excellent Dakotta Fanning shows some humanity and much needed charisma, another superb performance after 'Man On Fire'.
Don't get me wrong I enjoyed this movie a lot, I just expected that bit more from Spielberg,another thing was it wasn't as scary as had been mooted, I can't say I was on the edge of my seat once,but as you know, hey this is a Spielberg movie, the American Family will prevail, and as for those final scenes, really, pass the sick bag.