The wind is blowing toward the storm...

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2013)

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. When his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his son Robbie and young daughter Rachel for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm suddenly touches down.
What follows is the battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it in......
Easily the best summer film of 2005, its one of Cruises last memorable blockbusters, and its a blast from start to finish. What really sets the mood for the film is Freemans phenomenal narration at the beginning of the movie, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand when he says 'slowly, but surely'.
Spielberg again puts the emphasis on the nuclear family, and the attack is the turning point or Ray and his children. Its clear from the beginning that Ray is estranged form his children, and that he may be the most immature of the three, but he soon becomes the mature one, making sure they are staying together and avoiding any terror or aftermath as they progress.
The visuals are spectacular, from the initial attack, to the amazing Tripod scene after the boat attack. The Tim Robbins scene is bizarre and takes you away from the film, but Spielberg amps it up with the probe investigating.
Its a great movie by Spielberg, very dark compared to his usual summer fare, but despite some flaws, and blatant references to 9/11, it still holds up well eight years later.