See the movie for the spectacular effects and not for the acting or storyline

Rating: 5/10 (28 June 2005)

(Synopsis) Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a divorced dockworker with few skills as a father. Ray's ex-wife (Miranda Otto) drops off their teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and 10-year old daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) for a weekend visit with their father in New Jersey. Ray is a self-absorbed individual who feels imposed upon by having to baby sit his own children. Then something happens that will change their entire lives. An unusual and violent lightning storm hits the town. In the intersection down the street, Ray sees a huge three-legged war machine rise from beneath the street. The machine begins to fire and incinerate everything and everybody. The Martians have begun the war by attacking Earth with only one goal in mind, destroying everything in sight. Ray becomes a real father when he decides to protect his children and take them to their mother in Boston. They start running for their lives and are just ahead of the Martians, when they get caught up in a frantic mob of people who are also fleeing the machines. The machines have increased in number and are everywhere, and they can not be destroyed by our military.
(Comments) The retelling of the H. G. Wells novel by director Steven Spielberg is only an average one. The story is seen through the eyes of Ray and his children, but there is one major problem, the audience will not be able to connect to Ray as a hero or even a good father. You get to a point where you want the Martians to take Ray out. The movie starts out great, then goes down hill. Dakota Fanning did a better job of acting scared then Tom Cruise. If you want to see the movie, you can, because the special effects were spectacular. (Paramount, Run time 1:56, Rated PG-13) (5/10)