Thank God for downloading...and germs!

Rating: 4/10 (11 August 2005)

This movie is a prime example of why the movie industry detests the downloading of films. If you see this once, you'll never pay to see it in a theater (or buy a DVD). It just doesn't make the grade.
First of all, it's confusing: Where do the aliens come from? How did they get here? Did they bury their tripods in the earth millions of years ago as suggested by T. Robbins, or what? Also, do they just want to annihilate the humans or use them for food or fertilizer? And it seems they can't make up their minds whether the aliens should vaporize everything or burn everything. No explanation of the red roots either. Did the producers (S. Spielberg) assume everyone has read Wells' novel.
Second, the characters are weak and the "family" story is a total distraction. If they were going to do it successfully, they should have followed each family member's progress. Instead you only saw T. Cruise (naturally) and D.Fanning on a continuous basis. It would have been more interesting to follow the mom and teenage boy too. Could have really done something interesting with the teenage boy I would think. None of the characters are ever developed enough for the viewer to have any empathy with them.
The ending was too sudden. There should have been some build-up to the germs killing the aliens. Instead everything just stops and we see just one brief glimpse of a dying alien trying to escape from its tripod. The explanation is then left to the narrator...quite unsatisfying.
On a positive note: The effects were impressive. There were some unique camera angles that gave the scenes an added realism. The CGI aliens hunting through the basement, playing with the bike, etc. were excellent. Good job on the tripods breaking through the pavement also. If you're in a movie for effects, this one should be satisfying even if the plot and characters are a bit on the weak side.
My summary: I will never pay to see this in a theater. And the only reason I will rent it is because I feel obligated to do so since I already downloaded it and watched it.