Review: War of the Worlds

This mawkishly contrived melodrama chokes to death on its own sentimentality. Presaging its ultimate fate was the scene in which Cruise tearfully and reluctantly allows his son to rush off to his seemingly certain death. Of course he doesn't die; of course they are reunited and appear to reconcile in a thoroughly improbable ending. One of my classmates noted that, in a movie about a war with aliens, the ending was the least plausible part of the movie. Well said.

I must say that I love this city. Nowhere else would movie goers have such a hostile reaction to an otherwise decent suspense filled movie with plenty of explosions and special effects to keep the great unwashed masses distracted. But, last night, the cynical New Yorkers who watched alongside yours truly refused to be distracted. Well done.

In sum, avoid this movie if possible, and if you must go, leave five minutes before the movie ends.