War Of The Worlds

With Hollywood remaking everything they can get their hands on, we knew that it had to happen someday and I, for one, am glad that it was Steven Spielberg who grasped the War option and didn't let go until it was done. Believe me, it was definitely a good choice. If you're going to do a remake of a great classic, then you might as well go all out and do it on the biggest scale and Spielberg has done just that. The sets are amazing, the destruction is breathtaking and the aliens are something different.

War Of The Worlds focuses on the life of Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), a dockworker who thinks that he is about to spend yet another boring weekend with his two kids to ex-wife Mary Ann Ferrier (Miranda Otto). Boy, was he wrong!

As you can guess, it's a weekend like no other, as the aliens decide to make themselves known and in the process destroy the small town that Ray lives in, along with most of its inhabitants. Ray must fight for his life and look after his kids, as he tries to escape the carnage brought by the aliens and, a bit later on, by a character known as Ogilvy (Tim Robbins). The world is about to be shown what it's like to be at the bottom of the food chain.

As well as the stunning design, the alien Tripods are amazing in detail and scary as hell. When the town where Ray lives is torn apart, nothing is left standing - and I mean nothing - and the characters themselves are amazing to watch. Spielberg makes sure that we are involved in everything that goes on, from the moment we realise that Ray is a bad father, when he decides to play catch with his 16-year-old son (Justin Chatwin), which turns into an argument, leading to Ray almost breaking the boy's wrist with a fastball, to the creepy performance of Robbins as Ogilvy, who helps Ray and his daughter (Dakota Fanning) seek refuge, but does so with a sinister motive.

War Of The Worlds has everything a great disaster movie should have, destruction, families running for their lives, heroes, but, with Spielberg, you get it on a grander scale and every ounce of blood, sweat and tears he puts into his movies is apparent when you watch this.

He has taken the original idea and re-structured it to make his own vision. And yes, I am a Spielberg fan, so am biased with my opinions. But I will say one thing: if you want to see a movie that will leave you talking about it for weeks, then go see War Of The Worlds.