Spielberg's Aliens Much More Fun When Nice

Rating: 3/10 (5 April 2007)

There's a lot wrong with "War Of The Worlds," and considering his track record with Extra-Terrestrials, Steven Spielberg should have known better. This is an unsatisfying film on nearly every level.
Part of it is the basics of the original story, from the H.G. Wells book. The problem is the story itself doesn't work as a "modern day" tale for us to view. The psychology of the situation just doesn't work as well in the 21st Century as it did when it was written.
But much more the problem is in Spielberg's version of it, where there is no charm whatsoever from the stars Tom Cruise, who plays an absentee dad... constantly griping with Justin Chatwin who plays his teenage son and especially Dakota Fanning, who plays his daughter, given barely anything to do but scream, nearly non-stop, throughout the film.
We get a brief look at the "space invaders," in one scene, but Spielberg doesn't want to give them a personality, a heart, or even a reason for what they're doing, and that's a big, big reason none of this makes any sense. They destroy some people, and capture others, and it's unclear why.
Plenty of mayhem and a few good action scenes with large crowds attempting to escape the massive "tripods." And one pretty cute scene with Tim Robbins as some sort of wannabe rebellion leader. But that's not enough to make this worth viewing.