Great Beginning

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2005)

The build up to the first appearance of the tripods is really pure Spielberg magic. It's cleverly shot and the timing is great. Then hell breaks loose and the first attack is happening in front of your eyes. These 20 minutes are simply the most intense scenes I've seen in a long time in cinema.
After that it's a pure escape movie which is sometimes really boring (the cellar scene should have been completely deleted). The plot is missing dramatic moments here. The attacks are still exciting but they seem to be chained together without glue.
The FX are absolutely stunning and "realistic". The camera is always moving and shaking, but the CGI elements are integrated seamlessly. So, ILM, good job.
In the whole WotW is an interesting movie but could have been much better by building a detailed story around the invasion. Nevertheless it has a great intro and the rest is great eye candy with state-of-the-art effects.