War of the Worlds

Sometimes it just pays to leave well alone, and this remake of the 1953 version adds nothing aside from more sophisticated special effects. A vehicle for Tom Cruse, it allows Stephen Spielberg to turn this menacing and thought-provoking sci-fi classic into a family melodrama with the star and his dysfunctional family travelling the breadth of the country trying to escape the terror that is falling from the skies. These metallic creations are ruthless, destroying everything in their path but somehow the emphasis of this is more on why "Ray" can't get on with "Robbie" (Justin Chatwin) and whether or not "Rachel" (Dakota Fanning) can keep hold of her childhood toy. The effects are good: the lasers and the pyrotechnics; the explosions and scenes of dereliction are impressive - but oddly enough, I found them less so than in the iteration made fifty years earlier. Lots of horrified expressions as the cast look longingly at green screens, some banal dialogue and we end up with a film about the people in/behind it rather than one about alien world domination. After almost two hours, the ending - and it's huge significance - is almost an afterthought to the boring story of who did what to whom over the years in the "Ferrier" family. Cruise can, at times, bring charisma to the screen. Here he brings little and I am afraid that I found this a triumph of commercialism over creativity and was cheerily egging on the aliens from fairly early on.

An intense, serious and harrowing portrayal of the H.G. Wells classic. Tom Cruise doing an excellent job of not being Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning out acting everyone. It's hard to call this film an enjoyable watch as it's actually emotionally affecting at times, with some very raw realism concerning human nature. This movie manages to keep a constantly high pace without being exhausting to watch. Well worth a place in your collection.