Watchable

Rating: 6/10 (1 July 2005)

Spielberg attempts to hoodwink us out of our 10 dollars in this movie. This movie is not a movie about an alien invasion. It is a movie about one man and his kids living through a disaster. Or at least that's what the book is. The movie tries to mix that idea with poorly developed characters and superfluous sub-plots. Spielberg introduces two new characters in his adaptation a daughter and son who live with their mother, but are staying with Ray (Cruise) for the weekend. They are obviously only their to give Ray a reason to keep going and to make him more likable. But the movie fails on both counts. The kid's characters are never devolved enough. They feel like useless appendages.
We see Cruise running from one disaster to another; in the end it just seems tired. You might as well be watching volcano with aliens inserted instead of a volcano. Spielberg does deserve credit for keeping the characters (all of them even the extras) actions seem realistic and prudent.
This movie is in the end merely watchable. My advice: save your money for a better movie.