War of the Worlds

The Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise combination is always bound to create a sense of anticipation. Add a best selling science fiction novel from HG Wells into the metaphorical pot and the end result should be the visual equivalant of caviar. However, like all movies preceded by excessive hype, War of the Worlds predictably falls short of expectation.

In a nutshell, War of the Worlds is about an advanced alien species from Mars on a crusade to exterminate the entire Human race. Sounds original...doesn't it?

Apart from big hollywood names, amazing visual effects are probably the best thing War of the Worlds has to offer. A stage in movie making history has been reached where aliens in huge quadrapedal killing machines not only look good but totally realistic. The sound and acting are generally all done very professionally, however the feeling that something substantial that seperates a good movie from a great one is missing, is easily felt by anyone with a pulse.

The movie's biggest flaw is that the audience is not made to feel more interested in the survival of Ray Perrier (Tom Cruise) and his family. This is mainly because they don't play any part in the actual defense against the invading martians and due to hollywood conventions that make it insanely easy to predict whether or not the leading actor/actress is going to die.

To conclude, War of the Worlds is good but not great, that said however, if you have already bought a season ticket and have nothing better to do on the 27th of November it's worth seeing even if only for the mind boggling special effect scenes.