A True Summer Film, this proves Spielberg still has his Magic, though Cruise was miss-cast in this role.

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2005)

This is a Review of War of the Worlds, Released By Parmount and Dreamworks, Directed by Steven Spielberg and Stars Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, and Tim Robbins. Story: Lets start of by saying this is no piece of original work, not only is this your typical alien invasion that has been seen in movies like ID4 and mars attacks, but it is based on the H.G. Wells novel of the same title. It features a dead-beat dad named Ray(Cruise) watching his children for the weekend when the invasion begins. They are simply running from these aliens seeking refuge wherever they can. This story is hard to pull off and most people usually fail but Spielberg takes something like this and makes it work and it will redefine the genre again. The ending was a little odd and kind of took out of it but it was still well done. However this ending I do not understand may make much more sense to me in the long run. Special Effects: This is a summer alien invasion film so the special effects really have to be where it is at. The effects are really well done they took good care in constructing all the explosions and creating the aliens. There are some effects in this movie that just make you feel a little chill down your spine and thats what it should have definitely went for. They were well done. Acting: Almost everyone in the cast gives a top notch performance. The only real problem I had with the movie, which is what dropped the score, was Tom Cruise just being completlely miss-cast as Ray. Tom Cruise just cannot be a slob or a dead beat he's just too Tom Cruise for that role, they definitely could of cast someone better in it. Dakota Fanning again gives a great performance as the little girl and this time she is actually giving a real performance and does not look like she is possessed by total evil. The best performance was by Tim Robbins who just perfectly played the paranoid man looking for a way to survive and kill these creatures. With the exception of Cruise, the cast is terrific. Direction: Like the top says, Spielberg still proves he has magic left in his sack. The pacing was good, and the shocks and action just kept right on coming. It was a little short but nothing to get in a fuss over. It could have been way too long and it could of just got boring. Great Film, Great Effects, Great Acting, Cruise was miss-cast but I can cope. 8.5/10 The Best Alien Invasion movie to come out in recent years and is truly in the top 5 films of the summer or 2005 and just may be one of the best of the year.