Spielberg+Cruise= Need to look out for areas of improvement

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2005)

Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise is a pair of fantastic duo when making sci-fi dramas. However, unlike their previous box office hit Minority Report, there are areas of improvement for War of the Worlds.
They remake the Paramount classic, they turned a sci-fi fiction by H.G Wells from words to action, they used Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins, and in the end, they need to look out for certain areas, cos War is not as great as Minority.
First of all, the storyline is there, but it lacks details. We do not see Cruise playing an big screen hero, but more rather, a minor character who is escaping the attacks of alien tripod machine, together with his son and daughter from his ex-wife. The whole movie is about how a family escape from the invasion of alien tripod machines, which were hidden under the earth for millions of years. When the machines attack human beings, they began the journey of survival.
The story may/may not sound common, but it has lacked details for certain scenes. What is the role of Tim Robbin's existence in the story? Who is he? How much does he help them? How does he know about the future of the earth? How does he knows that the alien tripod machine is coming after the human beings? The lacking of details in the film leads to the second point: it leaves the audience with loads of questions. Justin Chatwin, who plays Robbie, son of Tom Cruise, insisted on joining the army to fight against the tripod machine. An explosion follows. How does he survive? And when most of the cars are unable to function after several lighting strikes, why is it that the car found by them can function? What has happened to all of the tripod machines at the end of the film? It was not clearly explained. From the duration of 116min, the sci-fi thriller left several pointers unanswered.
While Spielberg and Cruise has answered the pointers in Minority Report in detailed, nothing much was described on War of the Worlds. Even having a cast of experienced actors such as the young Fanning and Robbins, the Oscar winner, it does not help in covering up the faults found in the film.
Compared to Minority Report, where the background was set in future, War of the Worlds do not have much visual effects. But there are some scenes that's worth waiting for. Look out for the scene where the tripod alien machines awakes from the earth, and attack the people. Also, look out for how the highway bridge collapse at the neighborhood when the Ferriers (Cruise, Fanning and Chatwin) are escaping.
If more time was given to the duo and the casts and crews, War of the Worlds can exceed audience's expectations, and do much more better than Minority Report.