The War is On!

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2005)

Well the signs going into this movie were pretty good. Critics loved the movie plus we got Spielberg and Cruise teaming up so I was expecting a good one. I t was definitely in my top 10 list of movies to see over the summer.
Basically this movie does not go very far from the original version released some decades back. Same plot just updated in terms of time and technology.
I always grow tired of movies whose main selling point are the effects. I loved the minimalist special effects in this one. This however is still effective in getting the message of fear and dread across.
In terms of the acting, I thought that Dakota Fanning did a great job. It's actually quite hard to believe that she is only 11 years old but can do have a masterful performance. I can still remember the first time I saw her in a episode of CSI some years back and she has certainly progressed since then. I thought that Tom Cruise did a good enough of a job as the caring father trying to protect his children Nothing extraordinary but just enough. Nothing much to say about supporting other than that Tim Robbins should have been given longer screen time.
I also quite liked the way they were able to put across the theme on family relations and how it is tested in stressful situations.
I guess my main gripe and I fell that many will feel this too is that the end came rather abruptly and that how it was all resolved just felt unsatisfactory.