War of the Worlds (DVD, 2005, Widescreen)

This is a most stress-filled and exciting film, with good reason. Poorly equipped for fatherhood (no Suri jokes), Papa Tom finds himself responsible for the safety of his two children who are visiting for the weekend when the earth is attacked by very unfriendly aliens with an agenda. Junior has rebellion issues and Blondie's precocious and spoiled. All this is very worrisome and stressful for Papa Tom.

The film progresses from there to nonstop run for safety activity that is thrilling and well done. Spielberg creates an ominous sense of impending danger and confusion in the first act. It feels frighteningly real as everyone has to suddenly react to the peril that crops up so quickly.

The movie takes you on the family's wild ride for safety as Papa Tom's efforts to help them survive moment to moment close in around them. Cruise does a good job of conveying a barely controlled sense of panic, as you would under these circumstances. Papa Tom not only has to contend with trying to stay out of the paths of roving, homocidal tripods (who always look as if they are about to take a picture), but has to deal with other people who act nasty and generally lose it. These create more worries.

There were a few nit-picky things that grated and I mention them now:
(1) Even though Papa Tom found the only operable car in the area it still would have needed to be a hovercraft to travel more than a quarter of a mile to get around all the broken down cars littering the road, much less make it all the way up to the rural Hudson Valley area;
(2) They outran the tripods on the hill which were pretty darn close considering the short human legs to long tripod strides ratio;
(3) The kid's brattiness always seemed to emerge at the worst moments, as when faux-goth-punk son decides the middle of a battlefield is a dandy place for a family argument (what was he going to fight the tripods with anyway, his cunning?); or the little blond albatross gets all brave, picky and mouthy when it comes to going to the bathroom outdoors not long after being completely psychotic with terror (did she ever get to pee? I know, I shouldn't obsess on such things).

All in all and in spite of the above objections, I found it a satisfying movie. Cruise kept his couch jumping to a minimum and the action was trademark Spielberg in the good way (though he will probably never surpass "Schindler's List" and that's as it should be). The film keeps you on the edge of your seat with the right amount of breathing space moments.

For extra amusement, watch it with others in a darkened room, sneak out and quietly set a tripod with a video camera nearby. Watch the fun as your guests discover it hovering ominously behind them, then turn on the flash. They may not speak to you for awhile, but it's worth it.