Smashing to the screen with thunderless lightening, cracking blacktop, brick-breaking and glass-shattering special effects, "War of the Worlds" also sets spinning a strong family plot line. Carefully, methodically, the filmmakers crawl the film under your skin. After ohhing and ahhing at the first twenty minutes, you'll sigh to yourself: "Oh this is going to be such a great film."

You'll be wrong.

True, the first half is excellent: great direction, great acting, a great family story, and large drama backed by wowing special effects. But just at the moment the film should explode, blossom world wide, break into larger territory -- geography, instead, it burrows into a basement with Tim Robbins. Far overstaying its welcome at this location, the story does not progress. Rather, the writers struggle for something for the characters to do. I found myself struggling to endure these scenes.

Finally, our heroes emerge from the depths of that cellar. Whew. Very quickly, too quickly, interesting and meaningful events transpire, then in a heart beat the film ends. My friend and I shook our heads at each other... did we miss something? Is this really the end of the picture?

A word on the ending of this picture -- terrible. Perhaps there are many pieces of film on the cutting room floor that would have made the ending make sense, or given it meaning. As it stands, this ending has no purpose, no emotional weight, and very little logic. In fact, as a blatant admission of failure, the narrator explains what just happened as a sort of epilogue.

In sum, a really splendid first act, stalls then tailspins into a mess.

(Suggestion: rent "Independence Day")