The summer is known for being the season when major movies are released. I thought War of the Worlds was great.

War of the Worlds stars Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning. Cruise plays a father who has his daughter, Fanning, and his son visiting on the weekend in New York City. All of a sudden, alien machines with long metal legs erupt from under the streets. At first, people don’t know what to think, but when the aliens start turning innocent human beings into a fine white dust, all hell breaks loose.

War of the Worlds follows Cruise and his family as they run around the Northeastern United States in a stolen van to escape the monsters. At many times, they are stuck in a basement while these machines destroy everyone. At one point, Cruise and Fanning are hiding in a man’s basement. The man, played by Tim Robbins, has lost his mind because of the attack. Robbins tries to convince Cruise to fight against the machines. However, in a suspenseful moment, Cruise, Fanning and Robbins fight for their lives as the aliens invade the basement. They run from the aliens in a basement no bigger than a dorm using tricks with mirrors. After the aliens leave, Robbins tries to dig a tunnel in the bottom of the basement. Cruise knows that he’s making too much noise and tells Fanning to hold her ears as Cruise shuts the lunatic up for good.

As War of the Worlds starts out, the relationship between Cruise and his children are strained at best. However, as the movie ends, Cruise and his family reconcile and live happily ever after. Of course, I can’t tell you everything that happened in the movie, but Cruise and Fanning are captured.

War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg, is a remake of the H.G. Well’s classic novel. I thought that the movie was good and that Fanning is by far the best child actress of her time. Fanning has been in movies such as Sweet Home Alabama, Man on Fire, and Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat. The one thing that outshines the actors is the special effects. Of course, you can’t have a Spielberg movie without special effects, but these are mesmerizing. The lighting storm at the beginning of the movie is especially good.

Even though this movie came out to mixed reviews, I would recommend War of the Worlds. If you want to see a movie that has great special effects and a wonderful storyline, watch this movie.