War of the worlds

(Herald rating * * * *)

H.G. Wells gets a tribute, of sorts. Steven Spielberg's thrilling but flawed alien invasion film may resemble the author's 1898 original sci-fi work in name only - even then it's dropped the definitive article. But Wells' slightly edited opening and closing paragraphs are delivered voiceover in Morgan Freeman's rich tones. Dead classy.

And it's also a tribute, of sorts, to September 11.

Whether it's the human ash that Tom Cruise finds himself covered in after the initial lethal close encounter, the missing person notices that are soon covering every wall, or the wreckage of a plane crash in a suburban cul de sac, the look of its mayhem is informed by the events of 2001 and their aftermath.

Whether it actually has something to say about all that is quite another thing. At least New York and the world's other landmarks aren't getting the Independence Day treatment - the invasion may be global, but WOTW stays local and focused only on Cruise as he tries to save his two children from the onslaught.

What this Spielberg film is a tribute to most is, well, Spielberg.

Yes, he's done alien films before, both of which suggested he was beamed down from another galaxy as a sort of public relations advance guard.

But there are times in this when WOTW becomes like a Spielberg theme park with its references to his past flicks. Funniest of them all is during a prolonged hide'n'seek scene in a basement, itself echoing the creeping velociraptor attack in Jurassic Park. An inquisitive alien reaches up to spin the wheel on a bicycle. However, his finger is glow-free, the bicycle comes crashing down and into the notebook goes the phrase "the anti-ET".

Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Check. But unlike the musical midgets from that film these aliens know only a big bass note played before they turn you into ash. You can cross-reference Jaws and a few other Spielbergisms. Though perhaps not The Color Purple.

It's actually fun seeing Spielberg rattling around in his box of old tricks. He is a master of the big event movie, and as such this one delivers.

With War of the Worlds he manages the trick of effectively updating a 1950s sci-fi flick adapted from a late-19th century book to the 21st century.

When it's zapping everything in its path, it's a thrilling, frightening experience. What lets it down - despite a solid performance from Cruise and a scene-stealing one from Fanning as his daughter - is the family drama that it's centred on.

Cruise's divorced New Jersey dock worker Ray Ferrier has his two kids for the weekend, just as the invasion begins. If there's a time he should stop being a hopeless father, it's now. He decides they should get to Boston where his ex-wife has gone for the weekend. And so it goes, driving, ducking and hiding as the alien tripods go from microwaving the population to harvesting them. Why?

Somewhere out on the road WOTW hits a couple of slow repetitive patches and illogical plot developments - Ray's teenage son departs, insisting on watching the battle against the aliens. Why? And it's all headed to a disappointingly flat ending.

But that doesn't stop it losing its initial zap-power. With his digital-effects weapons of mass destruction unleashed, Spielberg lets off one big scary bag of fireworks.

It's exciting, but it still stops short of invading the imagination the way his best work has done in the past.

CAST: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
RATING: M (medium-level violence)
RUNNING TIME: 117 mins
SCREENING: Village, Hoyts, Berkeley cinemas