Dazzling effects give War of the Worlds an edge...

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2005)

In Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds, Tom Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a divorced father who has his kids Rachel and Robbie, played by Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin, over his home in New York. Suddenly the world is attacked by "tripods" as they are called and havoc breaks loose. The sheer terror in the faces of people give the movie realistic qualities, even though it seems like this could never happen. When these visitors attack, people run, like any other "When aliens attack" movie. What makes this movie so different from Independence Day and all others of this genre is the realism, the "What is..." factor. M. Nigght Shamylan's Signs is another film that comes to mind, a movie that shows what would happen if regular people are thrown into an extraordinary situation. If you are in the mood to be dazzled, scared, and entertained, go see War of the Worlds.