Do they think we're all morons?

Rating: 5/10 (2 July 2005)

After seeing this movie, I honestly think a lot of the movie industry thinks the American public has an IQ of about 60.
Story- 5/10 The original story is a pretty interesting one, but the screenplay was not good at all. The family aspect was absolutely terribly done, and there was almost zero attempt to explain the actual story in any manner. I think they assumed we wouldn't be asking any questions about what happened, but I certainly am.
Acting- 8/10 The acting in this movie is pretty good; they all did pretty well considering what they were given in terms of screenplay. I really cant blame the actors for what happened, it really wasn't their fault; the problem was in screenplay and direction.
Direction- 3/10 I think this is probably one of Spielberg's worst films ever. It was so rushed and clearly wasn't thought out enough. Also, it was extremely apparent that he decided to use Visual Effects as a major crutch in this film. The way the story was told was totally uninspired... what ever happened to the amazing feeling present in his movies like "Close Encounters of the Third Time"? That movie had a feel of passion about it, and was a truly great alien film. This movie had money lust and visual effects written all over it. Spielberg needs to regroup and go back to making movies to tell a story and to create a masterpiece.
Visuals- 9/10 The movie excels in this category. Spielberg relies on visual effects too much now, and needs to start using them to enhance the story, not to completely guide the movie. If all I want is visual effects, I'll go see a fireworks show or an IMAX film.
Overall- 5/10 The movie industry (some of them know this) has to learn that we are not all complete morons. Many moments of this movie make no sense, and most things are never fully explained. I walked out of War of the Worlds with a bitter feeling, because I knew we had all been left in the dark when it came to most of the actual story. We were herded in like cattle to pay our 10 bucks, see stunning visual effects, and not see any semblance of a story. Sorry if you thought you could slip this rushed piece of dog c**p by the American public with no one noticing Spielberg, but you certainly didn't slip it past me.