Spielberg and the art of cliché

Rating: 2/10 (9 July 2005)

There is really only one hope for films of this kind and that is to view them as fun, amusing, escapism, not to be taken seriously, not to be analysed by part-time intellectuals for some deeper meaning etc etc. There are plenty of good films out there for whom this can be said but as soon as there is a hint of pretension to higher things, the cause is lost.
Spielberg's pretensions suffuse this film. He wants us to feel something for the failed Dad, the unhappy children, America, the World as they flee the Alien Invader. He wants to frighten us too. Unfortunately, this does not happen. It never happens because clichés are, by definition, stale; and here, one cliché robotic-ally follows the last, periodically doused with that deadening sentimentality so dear to American cinema: examples are legion but I don't want to be a spoiler.
The best parts of the film are when Cruise isn't there, such as the flight that follows the invasion.Unfortunately, Cruise is the hero, or the anti-hero, and he is there most of the time. He was the right man for the part though, because his artistic range is pretty narrow, as is in the film itself.
The best part of the film is the beginning, before the Aliens are revealed. At this point the audience's imagination is the key to the fear and apprehension Spielberg is trying to achieve. Once the Aliens appear, imagination is superfluous; the audience switch off and become dead, passive recipients of someone else's imagination, By now the film is over, but unfortunately, it has hardly started.
It's not all bleak though: Dakota Fanning, Cruise/Ray's 11-year-old daughter is superb. However, if she is to have a career in films she will need to be a bit more selective about whom she works with.
Oh yes, I almost forgot, there are some special effects.