A great summer popcorn flick!

Rating: 10/10 (6 July 2005)

Spielberg's remake of "War of the Worlds" is an action packed extravaganza that should leave most viewers a little shaken, if not stirred. I do not understand the negative reviews of this movie, and I think these reviewers a looking a little to deep within a movie that is strictly for entertainment value.
Luckily for us, this movie does not have any of the cheesy White House/Capitol Records blow-ups and destructions as its wimpy predecessors such as "Independence Day" or "The Day After Tomorrow". Instead, Spielberg keeps the action much closer to home; and right in your own backyard! The plot is basic and straightforward : Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a single father, who doesn't have the closest relationship with his two children. In fact- they are a bit "estranged" to say the least. On a typical weekend drop-off of the kids is when our martians began invading and Ray's parental instincts begin to kick in.
It starts out as a weather storm that looks rather cool - & then things begin to go horribly wrong. Lightening bolts began shooting out of the sky, and then from the ground, giant three legged mechanical tripods began to emerge. At first nobody knows what to make of them- until they suddenly start vaporizing humans and destroying every building on the ground ; and that's when the panic, anxiety, and fight for survival begins! The rest of the movie centers on Cruises struggle to keep his children alive and get them back to Bostonwhere there mother is hopefully unharmed. In between, we get fantastic action sequences as cities are destroyed and the true nature of the visitors is revealed.
"War of the Worlds" is not sugary sweet like some many other Spielberg films- and if anything- the film invokes a sense of panic and fear with the audiencebecause this is something that possibly could happen one day. And of course, this would be our civilizations worst nightmare. The film proves itself to be kind of creepy, if not downright scary- and this is where Spielberg succeeds marvelously.
All in all, "War of the Worlds" is an instant sci-fi classic- and one of the better (if not THE best) movies we will see this summer. The direction, photography, acting and affects are all top notch.
The perfect summer movie definitely recommended!