A thrilling first hour descends into unforgivable schmaltz and sentimentality

Rating: 4/10 (1 December 2016)

Spielberg's remake of the 1953 classic and the absolutely fabulous H.G. Wells novel is something of a mixed bag. It starts off really well, with the first hour offering plenty of spectacle and awesome thrills, but things descend rapidly into chaos (both literally and metaphorically) in the second hour, where the plot loses focus and the aliens become figures of fun rather than the terrible invaders they're supposed to be. Like THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, Spielberg seems to be going back to basics, with a very small cast and a frightfully simplistic storyline, and the result is just as uneven. Tom Cruise is workable in the leading role, but hardly surpasses himself like in THE LAST SAMURAI, whilst the majority of the acting is left to child screamer Dakota Fanning (what's the fuss about?).
The special effects are generally fantastic, with the arrival of the first tripod being a wondrous moment and thoroughly convincing. The scenes of devastation and destruction are also quite a thing to behold, but sadly these are few and far between in the two hour running time – more shots of the army vs. the aliens would have increased the rating no end. Sadly, Spielberg loses his way when our protagonists hole up in a basement with a weirdo Tim Robbins, then half an hour is wasted in kiddie scare shots as they play hide-and-seek with the aliens, who look rubbish and should have been left unseen. The ending comes in a slap-bang hash of inferior effects and, wait for it, cringing sentimentality; looks like Spielberg couldn't resist throwing in a schmaltzy epilogue where a character returns from certain death uninjured and the realism flies straight out of the window. What a shame; the opening sequences of this film seemed to offer so much more, and we're left with a seen-it-all-before sci-fi flick. Spielberg should have stuck to his source material.