War of the Worlds Movie Review 2005

Spielberg and Cruise re-team in this modern sci-fi remake of the H.G. Wells classic 1898 novel (George Pal produced the 1953 film version) though the M-word (Martians, that is) is never actually uttered here. Dockworker Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a distant dad forced together with his teenage son Robbie (Chatwin) and 10-year-old daughter Rachel (Fanning) for the weekend. That dysfunctional scene is cut short by powerful lightning strikes that activate massive underground three-legged alien machines bent on destroying every human in sight, which puts Ray and his brood on the run. Typical breathtaking Spielberg special effects abound; Cruise shows why he's an A-lister.

Distribution

DreamWorks SKG, 1000 Flower St., Glendale, CA 91201, Phone: (818)695-5000, Fax: (818)695-7775, URL: http://www.dreamworks.com

Available on DVD
Running time 118 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Books to Film: H.G. Wells, Alien Beings--Vicious, Dads, New Jersey, Top Grossing Films of 2005

Screenplay

David Koepp, Josh Friedman

Cast

Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Tim Robbins, Justin Chatwin, Rick Gonzalez, David Alan Basche, Yul Vazquez, Lenny Venito, Lisa Ann Walter, Ann (Robin) Robinson, Gene Barry

Cinematography

Janusz Kaminski

Director

Steven Spielberg

Music

John Williams

Other

Morgan Freeman, Ronald Judkins, Michael Kahn, Doug Meerdink, Andrew Menzies, Norman Newberry, Joanna Johnston, Rick Carter

Producer

Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, Amblin Entertainment, Cruise-Wagner Productions, Paramount