War of the Worlds, which was directed by Steven Spielberg, is based on a book written by H.G. Wells. It stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, the father of Rachel, who is played by Dakota Fanning, and Robbie, who is played by Justin Chatwin.

When Ray’s ex-wife leaves the kids with him for the weekend, there is a sudden storm that causes lightning and makes all electronics stop working, even battery-powered watches. Ray leaves the house to try to find out what is going on, and a few blocks away, he sees a large, metal creature rise from the ground and start killing people.

Horrified, the citizens try to run away, but some of them don’t make it. Ray scrambles his children into the only car that the mechanic could fix and tries to flee the aliens, hoping there is just one or that they are not in other cities. The “tripods” seem to be everywhere, and Ray has to make some extremely difficult decisions in an effort to protect his family.

I would rate this movie 4 out of 4 popcorns because it is very exciting and the acting is good. It is rated PG-13, so some kids may find it scary, but it definitely was not as scary as I thought it would be. There are a few gory images, but overall the main thing that is scary is the suspense. The aliens look very real as opposed to computerized and Dakota Fanning is very good at screaming and looking scared. Tom Cruise basically has the same expression the whole time, but the other characters and elements of the movie make up for that. Overall, War of the Worlds is intense and can be enjoyed by anyone who likes a little sci-fi action.

Additional Movie Review

Author: Surya, elementary school student writer

Rating: 4 popcorns

War of the Worlds is very exciting. This movie keeps you in suspense, and there are several places where people cannot resist jumping! Tom Cruise tries to hold it together for his kids' sakes, but he kind of freaks out several times as the stress builds.

It was a great movie, even though at times it is a little gory. I would not suggest kids under 9 see the movie!