Cruisin' through the War of the Worlds

Wellll,,,,

I went and saw Tommy Boy in War of the Worlds last night. If you're looking for an action-packed, shoot-em up slugfest a la Independence Day, you're going to be greatly disappointed. This one's more of a 'hangin on the edge of your seat' nailbiter. Tons of suspense, great visuals and cameos by troops from the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

The story is weak in that it's mainly Tommy Boy trying to get his son and daughter from Point A to Point B. His character doesn't remotely resemble Pete Mitchell, which is ok for a while but gets monotonous. His acting is great for the limited depth the character is given.

Dakota Fanning, imho, does a better job acting than Tommy Boy. Tim Robbins plays a deranged "guerrilla" out to save humanity from the aliens. His departure was not what I expected and left a bad taste in my mouth. Surely Spielberg could've come up with another way to get rid of him.

Overall, the action was nothing like Revenge of the Sith or Mr. & Mrs. Smith. There are a few scenes scattered showing the aliens kickin booty and kinda tame scene at the end where the Army strikes back. Suspense, not action, is the heart of this movie.

A pleasant surprise at the end is a cameo from two of the stars of the original War of the Worlds (1953).

The beginning and ending were narrated by Morgan Freeman and taken directly from the book.

I see a resurgence in H.G. Wells novels sales over the next month or so.

I give War of the Worlds 3.5 out of 5 stars.