War of the Worlds

Directed by Steven Spielberg, War of the Worlds follows Tom Cruise’s Ray Ferrier as he and his two children (Dakota Fanning’s Rachel and Justin Chatwin’s Robbie) are forced to go on the run after malevolent aliens launch an attack on humanity. It’s compelling subject matter that’s employed to uneven yet sporadically spellbinding effect by Spielberg, as the movie, which gets off to an admittedly lackadaisical start, progresses through a blisteringly-paced narrative that boasts (and benefits from) one electrifying, enthralling set-piece after another – with the engaging atmosphere heightened by Spielberg’s predictably stylish approach and Cruise’s magnetic performance. (This is despite the actor’s inability to convincingly step into the shoes of his blue-collar character.) And although the pictures been suffused with a whole host of almost indelible images and interludes, War of the Worlds’ overall impact is hampered significantly by Janusz Kamiński’s visually-unappealing and perpetually distracting cinematography – as the movie’s been hard-wired with a grainy, washed-out sensibility that diminishes the impact of several key sequences (ie the film, by and large, just looks awful). By the time the decent-enough (albeit somewhat anticlimactic) conclusion rolls around, War of the Worlds has cemented its place as a mostly compelling endeavor that would’ve been much improved had it been shot by virtually anyone else.

*** out of ****