Not bad, but not good

Rating: 5/10 (18 January 2006)

You will willingly sit through this movie but when it's over you'll feel like you wasted two hours. The action is steady and the special effects are OK. Tom Cruise and the child actors do a credible job.
But the movie is somewhat claustrophobic. You keep wishing Cruise would dump the kids and go find out what's going on, but their safety is his primary task. Unfortunately, that makes for a pretty thin plot line to hang all your character development on.
The special effects are fine, but for some reason most of the movie is in a shade of gray after the opening scenes. Perhaps so the red of blood would be more dramatic.
After your two hours with this movie you will have your own ideas on how to fix it. I say swap the Cruise and Robbins roles and have the kids just be some passers-by he tries to help. Then the script could focus a little less relentlessly on "I must save MY children" and to hell with everyone (and I mean everyone) else.