Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning watch lightening strikes in The War Of The Worlds (2005)

I can't remember the last time I left a movie theatre feeling this elated. The War Of The Worlds as re-imagined by Steven Spielberg and writer David Koepp is without doubt the most visceral and devastating alien invasion movie ever made. I'll turn to the important question of how good an adaptation it is of Wells' 1898 book at the end of this review, but .... read more.

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Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning seek shelter from a Tripod.	Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning join refugees fleeing a Tripod.	Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning watch a burning train race past them.
Tom Cruise spots a Tripod.	Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning watch lightning strikes.	Tom cruise watches the first Tripod rise from the ground.
Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg discuss a scene.	Tom Cruise and Dakato Fanning flee Tripods.	Tom Cruise and friends react to the appearance of a Tripod.
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.	Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins hide from aliens.	Miranda Otto.
Dakota Fanning.	Dakota Fanning.	Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning hide from aliens.	Tom Cruise.	Tom Cruise.
Tim Robbins prepares to confront alien.	Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning swim for their lives.	Justin Chatwin and Dakota Fanning.
People flee from alien attack.	Roads become clogged with refugees.	Dakota Fanning.
Dakota Fanning.	Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg.	Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise.	Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins.	Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.
Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg.	Tom Cruise.	Behind the scenes shot of Tripod attack on ship.
Attacked by desperate refugees.	Attacked by desperate refugees.	Steven Spielberg directs crowd scene.
Refugees board ferry.	Justin Chatwin.	Refugees on the move.
Military attacks tripods.	War Of The Worlds movie poster.	Ferry under attack by Tripod.
Tripod revealed.	Tripod leaves devastation in street.	Japanese movie poster for War Of The Worlds.
Japanese movie poster 2.

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Films

1953 The War Of The Worlds by George Pal. The action relocates to cold war America, with the Martian war machines re-invented as sinister flying machines.

2005 The War Of The Worlds. A creditable desire to make a movie set in the original Victorian era can't help this terrible production.

2005 The War Of The Worlds: AKA Invasion. A quick and cheerfully bad version riding the coat-tails of the Spielberg film.