not-so simple acting and action in this movie, entertainment at its best

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2006)

before watching the movie, I was discouraged by the critics, advertisement and the IMDb votes. After it, positively surprised.
The plot starts very easy with Tom Cruise playing in his normal work surroundings, marriage problems etc. Then, when the aliens come, characters freak out and the alien invasion starts. A nice set of scenes follows showing the rather senseless escape and at the end, humanity somehow prevails. At the end, it gets a little "blue sky and everything nice", but I can live with that for a summer blockbuster.
What was really good about the movie is the homework of the makers:
* very good sets, costumes, crafting At the beginning, the apartment of Ray Ferrier has awesome details. Posters, advertisements, etc.
* very good acting! Tom Cruise plays the role of Ray Ferrier vivid and can show us fear, terror, helplessness and also determination to "save his family". At some points, the freaking out of the characters is really good.
The child star Dakota Fanning acting the role of Rachel Ferrier helps also a lot. She ought to be 10 years old when the movie was shot and she is playing an important part there. Having watched the crappy act of the "Narnia" cast a few months before, this acting is a pleasure. Dakota Fanning is worth every cent here.
* Music! No Music! The movie has times when there is no music. Just silence and background noises. Especially in some of the "now some serious things happen" scenes, no useless tam-da-tam-da-tututu Hollywood muzak spoils. Roland Emmerich can learn a lesson here.
Seriously, the music is used when needed but the emotions are not carried alone by music.
* sum so, summing it up, the movie isn't a super-favorite ever, but inside its universe it works very well and is exciting to watch. Steven Spielberg sure is capable of quality and you enjoy this. Others have criticized the storyline. The story may end a little blue-eyed, but that does not harm the quality if you can live with the mathematics of blockbusters.