Very unoriginal.

Rating: 4/10 (22 November 2005)

There is no doubt that Steven Spielberg has given us some of the most important movies in history. Schindlers List, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan etc. But his movie only falls into what really is the Spielberg cookie cutter formula. His last movies fell in this trap and this one is no exception. Stupid father doesn't know how to take care of his kids, treats them like junk, trouble comes, then the father realizes how much he loves his kids and everyone smiles little rainbows of happiness. Now in this movie, the visuals are totally unoriginal compared to movies like ID4, or Men in Black, so nothing new here. There was no reason to include the character Tim Robbins plays. ( A rare flop for Robbins) and the ending, ( do not read if you have not seen it spoiler spoiler spoiler) is stupid. The aliens essentially die for no apparent reason, the son, whom we believe is dead turns out to be alive, (gosh how did I see that coming a thousand miles away?) and the whole family is reunited, THE END. Do not waste your time with this. Tom Cruise is not at his pinnacle of acting, (he rarely is, with the exceptions of Last Samurai and Born on the Fourth of July) and if you have watched even one Spielberg movie in the last two decades, you will be able to see everything coming a mile away. So don't waste your time with this.