Travesty

Rating: 3/10 (6 December 2005)

OK So I read the original as a kid 40 years ago and have seen several screen versions but they all did a better job. This is virtually plot less and the main problem is the miscasting of Tom Cruise as the "hero". Frankly I just didn't care if he got zapped - not because his character was unsympathetic - he's an absent father more interested in himself than the kids - but the actor is just not one you can warm to... maybe the odd ladies's heart would throb but you'd have to be pretty obsessed with him to not get caught up in a lacklustre performance from a "star" better suited to superficial roles. The only saving graces are the special effects which are terrific but even these tend to be used as a backdrop. There was no sense of global catastrophe just the usual tired use of newsflashes of a few capital cities that the dumbed down audience might just have heard of! How thoroughly disappointing!