This movie did not work. I do not mind the premise of an unstoppable alien invasion wrecking havoc on our blue planet, effortlessly brushing aside every opposition that humanity can muster as a mere annoyance, only to finally be defeated in some sort of last-minute bold act of desperation by the unlikely heroes of the movie. Great B-movies are made that way. But in War of the Worlds the alien attacks come to a sudden and complete stop all by itself, not being caused by anything the protagonists do or can even explain. This reduces the alien invasion to something like a natural disaster, and for example an earthquake, a tsunami, or a wood fire would have been enough of a setting for the main story here, which revolves around a broken family caught in the middle of a life-threatening catastrophe. Once you throw in science fiction, it should be dealt with as more than just an excuse for special effects (which were excellent, by the way). As it is, the abrupt ending is not at all a satisfying conclusion, aggravated even by the return of the lost son. A dose of humour would not have hurt, either. War of the Worlds takes itself very seriously, even when it crosses the line into horror comedy land (sucking people dry to spray their blood all over the place in order to fertilise flowers, please!).

5 points

PS: After three big Hollywood summer movies in a row, I really need to find something else next time.