The Anti-ID4

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2005)

My oh my, I've seen the biggest blockbusters this year and frankly I'm dog tired. So when I sat down for another popcorn flick, it got me worried a bit: 'Do I still love films, or should I just throw in the towel and call it a day?' Right of the bat, I felt relieved. There's still hope and his name is: Spielberg. So what else is new, you might ask. Nothing, would be my answer. Because in the last twelve years (from Jurassic Park and Schindlers List in 1993, threw Saving Private Ryan and A.I.) there's only one big name director who really got better with age. Scorcese and Lynch and all the other 50 plus directors never adapted to the modern times. Spielberg does that and remains classic at the same time.
What about this new film of his? It's just unbelievable that such a big movie got such a big heart at the center of it all. War of the Worlds story centers around a struggling man and his two estranged kids. Ray (Cruise in top form) has never really committed himself to be a good father and role-model and his kids dread to visit him on the weekends, which they rarely do. So far WotW is a great drama and I could've watched it for another hour and a half, but the invaders from outer space have different plans. And faster than you can say 'holy crap, there goes my house' the family drives away from there home, fleeing from the nasty aliens.
On their drive to Boston a lot of stuff happens to the family that really scared the living daylights out of me. Not because of what you see, but (here it comes Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich) because of what you NOT see. You don't see an alien-vessel every ten seconds or ten minutes for that matter. The whole movie you don't see anything the family doesn't see. That's why you give a rat's ass if something would've happen to them, and that's what makes a great movie. YOU CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS!