OK but could - and should - have been better.

Rating: 6/10 (19 February 2017)

Although any attempt to hold true to the original HG Wells story would be a hopeless effort the basic premise of the book was quite good. I've re-read it a number of times and still find it enjoyable.
The 1953 Gene Barry film version was pretty darned good for its time. With the contribution of CGI I was hoping this would surpass it. Well, the CGI was great but the rest of the movie not so much. The Tom Cruise character was an obnoxious jerk from the opening scenes and that didn't help but I never liked him much anyway. The CGI effects in the first minutes of the film, however, were excellent and I was quite excited that I was going to see a classic. It moved along pretty well during the next segment of fleeing from the invaders. Then it started to slow down and sort of fizzled away by the end, the victim of maudlin melodrama that even the best acting couldn't overcome.
I think this is a film worth watching, certainly if you're a Cruise fan or just want to see the opening effects. But don't expect anything special after the first 45 minutes or you'll be disappointed.