Winning WAR

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2005)

That Mr. Spielberg really knows how to churn out a great summer flick. This adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS nearly manages to make us forget the recent public TOMfoolery between our hero and a certain babbling Brooke. Watching Bayonne eaten by tripods did provide certain thrills for this Jersey boy - pay day for all those hours spent in bumper to bumper traffic. Cruise is in control, but pint-sized thespian Dakota Fanning is this film's key - she provides both the requisite humor ("I have back problems" she whines sardonically when asked to bunk out on a cellar floor) and the warm and fuzzies. Indeed, the relationships between Cruise and his kidlings is the film's bedrock with the tripod Aliens providing the scary chills and thrills of a sci-fi roller coaster. 'The crazy loon in the basement scene' (a staple of every WAR) pays off nicely thanks to Tim Robbins as said 'loon'. Like most treks, it all ends in Boston - but if you've any common sense at all, leave before they reach Beantown. The film's confusingly simplistic ending is not only dumb but sentimental. Its nearly enough to do the film in. But luckily it's only the battle thats lost - not the WAR.