- Film Review
- Reviewed By Alan Jones
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4 out of 5
Steven Spielberg's mega-upgrade of the 1953 science-fiction landmark is a spectacular disaster epic of two halves. The first (and much the superior) hour is a masterclass in escalating tension, with grandiose and brilliantly executed sequences following in rapid succession - the bizarre lightning storm that prefigures the eruption of the alien Tripod war machines from beneath the earth is an astonishing opening salvo. Unusually for a special-effects blockbuster, the human drama (though admittedly clichéd in construction) is transfixing, as divorced dock worker Tom Cruise flees the invasion with his two estranged children (played by Justin Chatwin and Dakota Fanning). It's in the second hour that the story begins to wilt, most crucially when the suspense-evaporating CGI aliens are revealed. The imaginative details (a blazing train hurtling out of control, the river of dead bodies) also begin to peter out until a rather abrupt ending in which Hollywood schmaltz wins the day.
Plot Summary
Sci-fi thriller based on HG Wells's novel, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise. When aliens invade Earth, divorced dock worker Ray Ferrier attempts to save his estranged family from the rampaging extraterrestrials.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Ray Ferrier
- Tom Cruise
- Rachel Ferrier
- Dakota Fanning
- Mary Ann Ferrier
- Miranda Otto
- Robbie Ferrier
- Justin Chatwin
- Harlan Ogilvy
- Tim Robbins
- Tim
- David Alan Basche
- Julio
- Yul Vazquez
- Grandfather
- Gene Barry
- Grandmother
- Ann Robinson
- Narrator
- Morgan Freeman
Crew
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
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