Better than I expected

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2005)

My expectations weren't very high when I went to see this film. I was expecting a typical "special effects extravaganza" that has been hyped up too much and nothing more. The fact that it's based on a famous book (which I haven't read) didn't improve my expectations at all, but, after seeing the film, I have to admit that I was wrong.
First of all, the special effects were extremely impressive. Everything had been made really well, from collapsing buildings to the aliens and the tripods. The sound effects were also very nice and completed the symphony of destruction. I couldn't help but grasp my seat during the scene where the freeway collapses and trucks start to fall from the sky. The only thing that started to annoy me towards the end was the sound of the tripods' "horns".
The music complemented everything. John Williams did, as always, a magnificent job. One other thing I liked about the music is that they didn't use it at all in some scenes. In my opinion, it felt really dramatic when the tripods started to kill people and all you could hear were their screams and the sound of the lasers.
And then we get to the acting, which probably divides opinions. Personally I liked most of the characters in the movie. Ray (Cruise) was a harsh man and it was interesting to see him fall into apathy and despair at times. Some of the cruel choices he had to make made me think how I would act in a crisis to save my loved ones. Some might find Ray a bit wooden and undramatic, but I think it suited the movie since it told the story of an average man and his family and some people are like that in real life as well.
Ray's daughter, Rachel (Fanning), was a perfect addition to the characters. Her freaking out increased the feeling of chaos perfectly. Something about her innocence made me want to see her survive and her fragile presence was nicely in contrast with the surrounding havoc. The only character I didn't like in this movie was Ray's son, Robbie (Chatwin). His zeal to fight the tripods was, in my opinion, a bit unrealistic. His survival in the end was also a bit too cheesy for my liking.
Otherwise the ending was OK, since one of the main themes of this movie was man's helplessness. It was very fitting that man was saved by the forces of nature, not the US military forces.
Altogether, this is a movie that definitely divides opinions. Those who don't like Spielberg and/or Cruise at all should just rent it on DVD. I recommend this movie to those of you who like to see disaster or sci-fi movies. This solid piece of work gets 8/10 from me.