Hollywood goes to 'War'

Oh, Steven Spielberg and the big budget movie. Does it ever get any better? I can think of no better director to put reliability on when it comes to banking successfully at the box office. And when you put Hollywood's biggest director with one of the biggest leading men, Tom Cruise, the results, much like their prior teaming on "Minority Report," are sure to be successful. Or are they?\nTom Cruise is Ray Ferrier, a working man and divorced father of two children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning, "Man on Fire") and Robbie (Justin Chatwin, whose cinematic underachievement equates to the likes of "Taking Lives" and "SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2"), living in New Jersey. What might seem like a typical fall afternoon is soon spoiled by a lightning storm which renders everything useless and leaves a mysterious hole in the middle of town. As Ray and the townsfolk gather round, the ground begins to swell and fissure revealing a hulking mechanical monstrosity, which, without any hesitation, begins annihilating every living person in its path. People disappear instantly with only their clothes left floating in the wind and Ray rushes home to his family in what is about to become the quest of one man's family to survive the exterminating onslaught of the towering Tripods. \nH.G. Wells' novel "The War of the Worlds" has seen the big screen before, released in 1953 as a somewhat entertaining sci-fi flick, but Orson Welles' radio version from 1938 truly terrified an entire nation before announcing it was all a hoax. With Spielberg's take on things, it is a further step away from the novel's plotline and more about terrifying the audience. Unfortunately though, the results are far from terrifying but instead more intimidating. Watching bodies disintegrate at the hands of death-ray-wielding Tripods is certainly horrific, but lands nowhere in scream territory. \nDespite the recent media outbursts by Tom Cruise, such nonsense shouldn't interfere with seeing his movies. His performance in "War" is a good one, but certainly nowhere near as great as recent work in "Collateral," "The Last Samurai" and his previous Spielberg outing. Cruise the fatherly figure and family defender is an interesting role to take on, but I think Cruise's persona is better suited for larger, more demanding roles. Dakota Fanning, who I usually cannot stand and showcases the kind of bossy attitude which would get an 11-year-old girl instantly grounded, is quickly (and quite thankfully) reduced to the crying, terrified tyke she should be in every film. Chatwin fulfills the angsty teen-who-hates-his-father role nicely but I'm certain any kid could've fulfilled the role all the same. The small performance from Tim Robbins, playing the paranoid Ogilvy, has some value despite no character development whatsoever. And I'll admit that for what is less than five minutes of screen time, Miranda Otto as Ray's ex-wife Mary Ann contains just the right dose of motherly character to be worthy of merit. \nAs for Spielberg and crew, "War" is something of a completely different film. Spielberg regulars John Williams (composer), Michael Kahn (editor) and Janusz Kaminski (cinematographer) seem to work against their typical techniques. Williams' score is more booming, Kahn's editing is quicker than usual and Kaminski's cinematography is at times very frenetic and showcases camerawork I have never seen before in any Spielberg outing. \nWhat it all boils down to is excitement. While there are some great visuals, the film just seems to zip by in no time. An extra half-hour might've given more time to develop characters and show off a little more action against the Tripods. The film does however capture the great non-stop escape of the Ferrier family and one could say this film adds a new chapter to Spielberg's unofficial "running man trilogy" comprised of "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Minority Report" and "Catch Me If You Can." \nDespite some shortcomings, Steven Spielberg's 'third' encounter with alien life is his best one, and I'm sure both H.G. Wells and Orson Welles would be proud.