War of the Worlds? What war?

Ah, another Spielberg-Cruise collaboration. Yes, Spielberg has proven yet again that he has an indisputable vision for sci-fi flicks. AND, like many times before, he has proven that he's a huge sucker for happy endings. And trust me, this time, he did it at the expense of the entire movie.

War of the Worlds? What war? As far I could see, the human race were being exterminated a lot quicker than their brains could register they were in big trouble. It wasn't a war, it was an invasion.

I don't want to spoil it for movie lovers out there by revealing the out-of-this-world machines and ultimately how Spielberg's ET turned out this time. See it for yourself, and be spooked out of your chair or have a good laugh if you will. Though I have to say, he made a good choice by featuring Cruise and Fanning in the trailer. His new and improved ET's were reduced to shadows partly to fish for bigger box-office returns by rousing the curiosity of movie-goers and also because no one likes to see gory, blood-thirsty aliens hell bent on terminating anything hot-blooded.

Let us explore the characters then. Half the time, my friends and I were pleading for Dakota to just SHUT-UP. She can really stir up an ear-jarring, attention-seeking plea. Common, is your father suppose to get you to safety or pay heed to your nonsense? Plus, I don't know why, but she keeps getting roles that require her to be a lot older than she really is, in terms of her whims and fancies that is. Can you imagine a 10-year-old health freak that 'orders humus instead of food' as said by Daddy Cruise?

She is adorable at other times though and I can tell you, she hit jackpot this time. Maybe it was in the contract - that Tom should cradle her everywhere they go.

"Haiyorrrrr….., how nice to be her. Look, he carries her everywhere. How nice to have a hot father like that..", Dena, sitting next to me exclaimed the whole way through.

Let's move on to our old but still 'hot' Cruise. He plays a screwed up dad pretty well. Reckon he had real life experiences? His teenage son (god, it's odd to imagine him having a teenage child) would rather refer to him as Ray and not Dad. Anyway, he can still throw window-shattering fast-balls though.

As the movie progresses, it's very clear how his character evolves. It's nice to see a human when the background is just pure carnage. Our macho man, playing an average-Joe this time around manages cry, love, make mistakes and be a jerk at the right moments. As for the unrealistic parts, he seems to have a clear pathway to drive through in the midst of a plane wreckage, kill a man whose wits deserted him (watch out for a cameo by Tim Robbins in a role reminiscent of the sexually abuse man in Moon River), figure a way to destroy a tripod with a hand-grenade when a soldier should have known better, and realise that all of a sudden the impenetrable shield of the tripod had broken down.

The biggest disappointment is the ending, which is nothing short of baffling. Cruise manages to rise above the ruins, single handedly, as portrayed in the movie. I don't think H.G Wells ended his book that way, it was just too perfect.

In another light, we get a glimpse of human nature. See how we react in a crowd at bottleneck traffic - the science of crowd movement, the unusual brutality in times of crisis and of course, how can we miss this - the will to survive.

Ultimately however, the moral of the story is - To stay safe during an alien invasion, stay close to Tom Cruise. And in Meena's blunt terms - don't leave your seats without clapping everytime Cruise saves the day!

Current Music: Aqualung's Brighter than sunshine.