War of the Worlds (2005) Rated PG13 Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, and Tim Robbins Rating: out of

Teaming once again with director Steven Spielberg, who worked with him on Minority Report, Cruise plays Ray Ferrier, a somewhat immature divorced father of two who is scheduled to take care of his kids for the weekend. When a strange storm unleashes a 40-foot-tall, tripod-like alien craft from below the surface of the Earth, Ray and his kids -- Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and Rachel (Dakota Fanning) -- have to flee from Ray's home to the suburbs where they think they'll be safe. What they find is that the entire world has been invaded by these tripods and there's nowhere to escape.

Based on H.G. Well's original, 19th century novel, this new film version updates things quite nicely into the post-9/11 world. When trying to figure things out, Rachel asks Ray if the damage and destruction is being caused by terrorists. 1953's film adaptation was more focused on the military aspect of dealing with the creatures and their machines. This new version puts the viewer alongside the Ferrier family and does not unveil anything more than they know until they know it. As an audience, we're left to discover things as they discover them, which makes for a nice, suspense-filled ride. Adding to the mix is the incredible cinematography, with one chill-inducing image after another on display as the tripods effortlessly destroy humanity.

The movies manages to stay grounded in the human side of things as the Ferriers attempt to survive the relentless alien onslaught. Although there are a lot of special effects, the movie never seems to be over-produced or too busy. It's a perfect mix of CGI and real-time effects. Spielberg is very good at making every shot count and this is very evident in the many interesting and entertaining sequences in the film. The introduction of the first tripod may join the ranks of the best sci-fi movie clips of all time.

If the film has a problem, it's the somewhat abrupt ending. Without spoiling anything, the movie just sort lurches to a halt and that ruins a really involving experience. Why it ends the way it ends is understandable, but that doesn't make it easier to swallow.

Overall, though, War of the Worlds is definitely a great summer action/science fiction film.

Trivia: While filming nearby, Tom Cruise along with a 20 member entourage, including Steven Spielberg, visited a Lexington, Virginia, Dairy Queen. Cruise saw a jar on the counter with a photo of Ashley Flint and her story. Flint was in a go-cart accident a few months earlier, leaving her family with a mountain of hospital bills. Cruise put $5000 cash into the jar. (Source: The Internet Movie Database)