Incredible. Best Picture sort of stuff; yet no record-breaker

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2005)

Before concerning myself with the film, lets start with a recap. In a pre-release interview for this film, Steven Spielberg insisted that this film would be bigger than Titanic, and would be then biggest movie of the decade.
Now, there are two problems with that comment. Firstly, Lord of the Rings has already taken that stance, whether we like it or not, earning somewhere near to $2billion in worldwide gross, 30-something Oscars, and a huge cult following between the three films. Secondly, what made Titanic so spectacular was the fact it had a teen heartthrob, a massive scene of destruction at a level not seen since "The Towering Inferno", and was so riddled with production problems that we just had to make sure that it was really as good as it seemed back then (excusing all who now regret that moment in their lives).
Yet while watching this film, you feel that it could have had all that and more.
Unless you viewed and truly understood "The Passion of the Christ," this really is the first film to send you out of the cinema feeling distraught, scared and truly entertained since the three-hour marathon about Leo and the Unsinkable ship. The only difference is is that this time around you probably wont be regretting it.
For those who have read the novel of "War of the Worlds," the movie follows the basic outline, with the obvious changes for the modern world. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) has gone from London social worker to New York docks laborer. He's divorced, and his kids hate him (especially his son, Robbie, portray by Justin Chatwin). Constantly neglecting his children, his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) and her new husband give most of the care. A fact that falls on his face when they're left at his place for the weekend. The parallels to modern society are too many to mention, with Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Jutin Chatwin (with some help from screenwriter Daivd Kopp) coming together in a sort of anti-family chemistry, that reflect the real "modern family." It's at this point that it all goes haywire. Aliens that have buried their ships here millions of years ago (I thought it'd be easier to kill dinosaurs?) come along, take their tripod-ships off "park" and hit the acceleration pedal hard. The plot becomes non-existent, a point proved by the fact that Cruise is constantly escaping certain death (and always finding a working car, an empty road, a way onto an overcrowded ferry, etc.), but our connection to the three characters grows, as we see them through experiences that we all know would happen if suddenly aliens start coming out of the ground and sucking all of our nutrients. The experience is made more distraught through some of the best camera work in years, that doesn't focus on the aliens (for too long), just on our heroes.
The only let down was the lack of plot to bring it together, and a really poor end. Yes, these are the thing that we usually complain about when watching something by Michael Bay. But Michael Bay would never be able to pull something like this off.
All round, Spielberg has yet again done something too spectacular for his own good. The film plays almost like a Hitchcock in protruding fear, shows that Spielberg is back on Roger Federer-like form that brought him "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park," and will probably the summer representative for Best Picture, come February 2006 (considering all the problems surrounding "Cinderella Man").
Yet will it break records, it worth a second viewing, but no.