No Credit to Tom

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2005)

I, too, was disappointed in this much-hyped film. I gave it a 7 because of Spielberg, not because of Cruise. Many of today's top movie stars could have played the lead role. Cruise was, in no way to me, necessary for the success of the film. Spielberg is the one who deserves the credit for what's good about this film, which is in large part the special effects. When I think of the people, I just think of running and screaming. Of course, that's what I'd do, too, if these aliens were destroying my world. After I watched it, I sat there and thought about Peggy Lee's song, "Is That All There Is?" It was just kinda empty. My favorite part was when three human characters were in the cellar (Cruise, Fanning, Robbins) because the aliens' actions were captivating to me. I rented the DVD and watched it on a nice sized TV screen. It was worth the $3-4, but I would have been irritated had I spent $7-10 to see it at a theater.