Yeeha!

Rating: 8/10 (2 July 2005)

I liked this movie, and I didn't think I would because I hated AI. Yeah, some appliances were working after the aliens had blown out the electricity (solar?); yeah the wife's relatives were too tidy (Gene Barry was the father in law you know (see 1953 cast list); OK, Rachel screamed too much; all right, the effects were digital... I don't care! Oh, I forgot, Tom Cruise has been a jerk of late. I don't care! The pacing was good, by that I mean that the ratio of down-time to chase was right (I LOATHE action movies that start at a high screech and never let up; those are for 14-year-old boys.). The gadgetry was minimal: no over-designed high-tech junk, just humans with legs and aliens with straws. No wince-inducing heroics. It isn't Jaws, but it's a lot of fun. Much better than the standard summer blockbuster--which is faint praise, and I mean to be more complimentary than that.