If there was ever a time to remake a classic sci-fi movie it would be right now. Steven Spielberg, perhaps the greatest director of our time, directs this magnificent blockbuster of a thriller that includes a great cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, with newcomer Justin Chatwin. Once again, Spielberg's family man theme shines through in this action packed flick which made my jaw drop and horrified me till the very end.

The great use of special effects made War of the Worlds truly remarkable. The destruction of the world mixed with fiery explosions took me to the edge and back. The way the aliens were depicted was very scary. As for sound effects, the trumpet noises erupting from the alien ships literally shook me in my seat. When action sequences were tense and climatic, composer John Williams inserted the right tunes to keep the suspense at a peak level.

Forget about the vapid media attention Tom Cruise received because of his new fling Katie Holmes. Cruise, despite whatever crazy scientology beliefs he may hold, is a fine actor who delivers another strong performance for this role. He is Ray Ferrier, a divorced father of two. Although he did rather well as the neglectful dad, the spotlight was stolen by the young Dakota Fanning. She is not only very mature for her age, but is rapidly developing into a remarkable actress. She portrays Ray's daughter who although loves her dad, has a seemingly stronger attachment to her mother. Her lines were done well and she showed she has good acting ability and the scary scenes were believable to me. Tim Robbins plays a crazy country man who puts Cruise and Fanning in danger constantly by his urge to attack the alien intruders.

Although the original story came first, this newly adapted screenplay closely resembled "Independence Day". It had intense action, climatic moments, a family theme of survival and regroup, and much entertainment from special effects. "War of the Worlds" is not only scarier than any horror movie I have seen in a good while, but it is fun to watch. I highly recommend seeing this whether or not you care for the actors. This blockbuster hit is a must see!

This is too predictable. Although sadly I have not seen the original version, I caught on immediately to what would be the aliens' demise. It was far too easy to figure out the outcome because it was foreseen even before the movie title was shown.

Although the predictability of the plot was there, this action packed sci-fi thriller will be known as one of Spielberg's great epic tales.