I enjoyed it...right up until the last ten minutes.

Rating: 6/10 (4 July 2005)

(Note: Major spoilers occur only in the clearly marked paragraph.) Spielberg. Cruise. Aliens. How can you go wrong? Well...
With "War of the Worlds", director Steven Spielberg has crafted a paradox: a movie with the subject of alien invasion that is more about familial relations. Similarly, the film treats the audience in an oxymoronic fashion: entertaining throughout yet leaving them unsatisfied as it follows the adventures of Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise, in a somewhat disorienting out-of-type role), who is a blue-collar New York City divorcée, and his semi-estranged children as they endure extra-terrestrials, each other, and everyone else.
After the brief requisite introduction of characters, the wonderfully intimate portrayal of the dysfunctional father-child relationship (one of Spielberg's most frequent themes) embarks on a wildly successful roller coaster, both physically and emotionally. This dominant portion of the movie is very good, as Cruise and family encounter a raging mix of frightening aliens and equally scary people, some purposeful (the mobs) and some not (a creepy Tim Robbins), and explore their relationships in the process.
I don't like to reveal much about a movie when I review it, but I feel the need...
MAJOR SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!!! (clearing throat for rant) My biggest issue with "War of the Worlds" is that too much didn't make sense, and I don't mean that in a scientific way. All of the momentum crashed and burned in the last moments, raising a cacophony of questions and providing few answers. You're telling me that these engineering geniuses bit it because they didn't get their shots? That's it?! I don't care if that's how the book ends; it's completely unsatisfying considering how badly they dominated us. Even the typical exploit-their-weakness ending ("Signs", every other alien movie) would have been sufficient. Beyond that, what is the purpose of the red vines/roots? Why were the machines affected by the atmosphere? Where is the backup? Why didn't the aliens take over the planet back when they buried their vehicles? And what are the freaking odds that the boy survived, let alone made it back to his grandparents' miraculously picturesque house while they were (from appearances) having tea?! I know that holes can be poked in most any sci-fi movie, but 1) a movie with this pedigree is going to be held to a higher standard than a fun romp like "Independence Day"; and 2) all of these irksome questions immediately came to mind because they were not evidently answered, except for the purpose of cinematic convenience, which has its place, but not to this degree.
END SPOILERS!!! (calming deep breaths) Featuring a less sweeping, more jittery score from stalwart John Williams, "War of the Worlds" still manages to intensely entrance for ninety-plus minutes while displaying often violent interactions of humans and aliens, and it is a testament to Spielberg's ability that the movie overcomes the aforementioned obstacles for so long. Whether or not you like his work, you have to admit that there are few better storytellers, and his tools are on full display here. Rarely was I bored while watching, with a slightly muted color palette and plenty of eye-twinkling shots courtesy of Spielberg and his regular cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, like the handful of shots through holes in glass, tracking cameras along cracking pavement, and more. Making a big-idea movie is difficult enough without focusing on the small moments of father and daughter, but Spielberg balances the extremes well, and putting the viewer in the shoes of an everyman is ideally effective in retelling this classic tale. That talent merges well with the again excellent work from the effects team at Industrial Light & Magic, which creates alien beings congruent to and unique from (tripods...nice) previous cinematic incarnations, with a sci-fi realism that impresses throughout.
For most of its running length, "War of the Worlds" is very good, still not the great science-fiction that "Minority Report" was, but very good. But even during that time, an inquisitive undercurrent flows, asking Where is this going?. Unfortunately that question is never satisfactorily answered, resulting in a bifurcated movie experience.
Bottom Line: Enjoyable but ultimately disappointing. 6 of 10.