Summary:
Special effects: A+
Storyline: D
Oh, this movie started out so well! Cruise was really believable as a divorced father and crane operator trying to eke out a living and deal with his ex and kids. The beginning invasion effects were incredible and the speed and savagery with which our normal, everyday modern world was transformed into hell just kept me on the edge of my seat!
That was the first 20-30 minutes, however, and then the movie sank into a morass of melodrama, illogic, and idiocy. Spielberg always seems to need to stop all the action right when it's getting good so we can watch our hero pour out his heart and all have a good cry. Then the movie stalls out and can't get back in gear again. In fact, it can't even find credibility or logic again and flails about desperately to find a way to wrap things up. Who needs plot when you've got a lot of screaming, running, explosions and other special effects, right?
Snarky comments that hopefully don't give too much away:
o Aliens buried these giant, three-legged killing machines beneath the Earth a million years ago? Why didn't they just take over the planet then?! Too easy? Not enough humans to zap?
o These killing machines have some convenient metal cages that can hold about a dozen people and keep them fresh so the aliens can snack while on the go. If you find yourself in one of these cages, make sure any Palestinian suicide bombers with you get selected as a snack first, and you will be free!
o The aliens are capable of space travel, generating force fields, and building giant killing machines, but they don't know anything about IR or amplified-light night vision?
I could go on and on, but I'll leave it as this. My recommendation is that you wait 'til it's on DVD and rent it. |