Giant killer robots from space...what's not to love?

Rating: Null/10 (3 July 2005)

I admit, I have never seen the original War of the Worlds. I am slowly compiling a list of all the classic sci-fi movies I have never seen, and it's currently embarrassingly long. That confession made, I can at least say that I'm reviewing this movie with a fresh perspective.
The first and most obvious thing to be said is that visually, the movie is stunning. The beginning of the invasion, when the Tripods climb out of the craters in the asphalt, surrounded by buildings that are imploding, crumbling, and being split down the middle, is an incredible image and one of the best uses of CGI I've seen in a long time. The machinery, the destruction, the aliens themselves are rendered beautifully and terrifyingly.
Stephen Spielberg does something else incredible, beyond the sheer impressiveness of the visuals--he keeps the tension pulsing throughout the entire movie. There is an honest question of who will make it out alive, of how we will prevail, when we will prevail, even if we will prevail at all (though honestly, if this question had been answered unsatisfyingly, no one would have liked this movie at all). Tom Cruise, as a dead-beat dad, is suddenly forced to figure out a way to bring his two children to safety. His daughter Rachel (played by the unbearably cute Dakota Fanning) in particular adds to the sense of urgency, both through her young age and her frequent panic attacks due to a bad case of claustrophobia.
I do have two criticisms, though. The first is Tim Robbins' bizarre sequence. Despite the fact that he is unquestionably an amazingly talented actor, I had trouble feeling that his role as an obsessive would-be leader of the (literally) "underground resistance" added much to the movie at all. The second would be the sticking point that many other viewers have complained about--the fairly ending. The audience is asked to swallow a weak explanation and a tie-up-loose-ends approach that rarely seems credible in film and literature. Still, my attitude is that by the time you reach the end, who cares? It's been a satisfying ride.
Whole-heartedly recommended to lovers of thrillers, action, and sci-fi alike.