Too rushed!

Rating: 4/10 (1 July 2005)

Another comment said this is Spielberg's worst movie in 20 years, but I don't think that's fair because Hook came out in the last 20 years and aside from 1941 and The Sugarland Express that's probably his worst movie.
At the same time War of the Worlds does suck. The ending is ridiculously anti-climactic. The aliens just die? Come on, Steven, you're more creative than that. I know he wanted to stay true to the spirit of the book but he could have still made the ending a little more exciting. Maybe if he had spent a little more time on this picture it could have been better. Everything about it felt rushed. Ideas start to take shape but then don't develop. For instance, the red ivy and the human blood, there must have been some reason for that other than seeing Tom Cruise murder Tim Robbins, but I have no idea what because the movie ended 5 minutes later with no further development.
This isn't to say there was nothing good about it. But even the stuff that was good was all lifted straight from other movies. The crazy weather patterns preceding the alien invasion were cool but Independence Day did that 9 years ago. I liked the scene where the eye was searching for Tom and Dakota in the barn but it was almost identical to Spielberg's own raptor chase in the kitchen in the original Jurassic Park.
I would not recommend this movie. If you wanna watch a good alien invasion flick rent Signs or Independence Day. They are both far more satisfying.