War Of The War Of The Worlds

Wells' narrator bullies and then murders a harmless clergyman. We think "what a brute!" Tom Cruise murders a creepy survivalist and afterwards we think "poor Tom, the terrible things he has to do to protect his daughter."

Hang on a minute. Daughter? There weren't any kids in Wells' original.

I love Spielberg for his early movies. Back then he seemed to have something to say- and it was great that he got given so much money to say it. Then, somewhere around mid-career the vital force slackened. The softness in his heart seemed to spread throughout his system.  The last film of his I really liked was AI. Wells' book is all about what worms we are. Spielberg's version- though it sticks surprisingly close to Wells' narrative- is all about Tom Cruise being wonderful.