Tom Should Jump off the couch instead of on it

Rating: 5/10 (22 July 2005)

I wanted to enjoy this movie, truly I did, but somehow watching it is like eating Chinese food, it just doesn't fill you up.
The movie starts off pretty good, Tom Cruise receives his 2 children from his ex wife and quickly we realize he is not the best father and his relationship with is children, especially his teenage son is not good. Then the Tripods start attacking and the movie goes downhill from there.
There are some good special effects, but there is endless scenes of the human race, shuffling along to their doom, not fighting back, no resistance such as in "Independence Day" a far superior movie. And Cruise's acting (can it even be called acting?) leaves a lot to be desired. Sorry Tom, all I could think of while watching you on the screen was you jumping up and down on Oprah's couch while laughing manically....Tom is truly a man spiraling into full fledged insanity. I really believe it. And I tried not to let my opinion of him color my opinion of the movie but I can't help it.
The only truly good thing about the movie was Dakota Fanning. She is a good little actress even though about halfway through the movie her constant screaming became quite irritating. However, the scene where she is standing by the river watching the dead bodies float by was very chilling, her little face and eyes truly reflected disbelief and horror, I was impressed with her.
The ending was too abrupt and to pat, the family reunited in Boston, including the surly teenage son who "had to go look up close at the attack "Just let me go Dad, just let me go"-the movie had sunk to clichés and major drama at this point, also I couldn't help but wonder if Spielberg was interjecting some protest to the Iraqi war at this point-sending your son off to die in the war, get it? Maybe that was just my guess, but knowing how left wing and antiwar most of Hollywood is I couldn't help but wonder....
This movie was okay, but could've been much, much better. I think Cruise, who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to attain the level he has in the Church Of Scientology should spend some money on medication for his obvious mental disease and some acting classes.