Oh, it's OK, I guess...

Rating: 5/10 (6 July 2005)

Frankly, I think it's time Hollywood rethought the entire Summer Blockbuster formula. We're rapidly reaching a saturation point, where everything within this formula has been done, and all that's left is to make it louder, faster, and more obnoxious.
To be fair, War of the Worlds makes an effort to step outside the formula. Unlike the odious and terminally boring ID4 of evil memory, Spielberg attempts to infuse some of the humble-pie spirit of Wells' story into the confines of the big budget SB. For most of the movie, Cruise does the intelligent thing --- he runs away, since there is clearly no way (yet) to fight the invader. Towards the end, he's obliged to satisfy the audience with a few heroics before nature takes it course and brings the story to a close.
Yes, the tripods are cool, and so are the death rays, but Cruise's performance is awful. I don't particularly like Cruise anyway, but when he gives a good performance ("Eyes Wide Shut", "Rain Man") I can easily forget that it's him and get lost in the movie, which speaks very well for his acting ability. Unfortunately, there's little for him or anyone else to do much except act horrified, and how can you keep that up without getting monotonous.
One of the problems with this movie is that the premise has been done to death, and there aren't many places to go, particularly with Spielberg's spread-the-saccharine approach. I can see that he's trying to move outside that formula, but the result is a flat, curiously dull, routine film that has no real story to it.
I'm looking forward to fall, when some serious drama can be found on the screen as the Oscar campaigns gear up.