Hard to not give it a 10.

Rating: 9/10 (30 June 2005)

I've read the knit-picky reviews here and am saddened that people can't be entertained anymore, even when the entertainment is as great as this. The cynical criticism - hating a movie because it wasn't written a particular way or because it had a discontinuity here or there - is really too bad. The reality is, Spielberg has captured the heart of H.G. Wells work and translated it more than a century into the future, making it relevant to we who are alive today. The technology he chose to use for the invaders tripods is so raw- almost steam-engine like- capturing the look and feel of the invaders from Well's original story, and yet the weaponry hearkens back to the terrifying ray weapons from the 1953 classic film. There are nods to the original film, but done with a Spielberg twist that takes the whole thing up a notch. The family dynamic that Cruise, Fanning, and Chatwin bring to screen is awesome. Some have argued that the gushy family stuff could be done without- but what is a story if not about humanity and human relationships? I'm not interested in a shallow and sterile shoot-em-up. I want a film to wrench at my heart and make me care about the characters. Otherwise, what's the point? This is a great movie. Terrifying, heart-wrenching, hopeful. I thought hard to pick out something that would make me not give it a 10. If I were cynical, like others, I'm sure I could find many reasons, but for now, I am astonished and entertained beyond my expectations.