Dean sez:
> I give this movie a solid "B". I found the special effects
> very special indeed, and I agree there are real moments of
> tension.

Dakota and special effects get an A. Irate son gets a D.

Tim Robbins was very good but incredibly unnecessary, as was the Gene Barry
- Ann Robinson cameos.

Cruise was just Cruise: a strong screen presence, but I can think of a dozen
actors who could have delivered the same performance [but probably not the
box office]. Now if he had converted the aliens to Scientology at the end,
I'd have been more impressed.

The Spielberg treatment was just OK; the most effective scene was the rehash
from Jurassic Park. The Cruse-as-hero in the cage was soooo contrived, from
finding the grenades to explosion in under 3 minutes. Equally contrived was
the plane crash and TV crew.

Equally rushed was the ending. There was no foreshadowing; just "wham-bam-to
the moon, Alice!" and Gaia wins. Combined with the brief grenade sequence,
can we expect lots of DVD extras?

Unanswered was a major question re the invasion: why? Why wait "millions of
years" for this food source? Great hindsight or the natural progression of
instellar farming? Surely the dinosaurs would have been easier prey and a
larger source of fertilizer. Travel clearly wasn't the problem.

Also left open was: the terraforming required the destruction of man's
structures, but why zap the ineffectual -- and useful! -- humans at all?

Got my money's worth, but there was nothing there to make me want to watch
it twice.

But the Kong preview has made me a believer in the film's casting and
Peter's direction. I can't wait!

Arthur Lortie
16 Adams Street #3
Taunton, MA 02780-2504
USA

ALortie@...
508-828-5821

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