Los Angeles - Film critics in the United States are raving about Steven Spielberg's latest movie "War of the Worlds ", which hit theatres Wednesday and is tipped to be a major summer blockbuster.
The movie tells of a world plunged into chaos after an invasion by ruthless aliens - with an obvious parallel to the devastation that could be caused by a massive terror attack.
Instead of focusing on the efforts of the military and the government to beat back the threat, the film examines the impact on a dysfunctional modern family led by Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, who plays his daughter.
"'War of the Worlds' is one hell of a ride," the CNN television news network said. "The special effects are seamless and the story succeeds in being both touching and horrifying. 'War of the Worlds' can be a nightmarish trip, but it's a terrific film, a blockbuster that lives up to its billing."
The Los Angeles Times called the movie "a perfect fit for our paranoid, potentially apocalyptic age, a film that considers the possibility, however obliquely, that the world as we know it could end."
Variety drew a link to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, saying the movie "exists in the shadow of 9/11 and fears of new enemies bent on nothing less than the total destruction of the West in general and the United States in particular".
The Washington Post called the movie "an orchestration of chaos and panic and destruction as visceral as it can get".
"Despite occasional flaws and misjudgments, it's a brilliantly told tale," the paper added. "It really rips along; it seizes you in its first seconds, holds you spellbound for two short hours and expels you, breathless and spent. It's your best summertime movie rush in many years."
The Hollywood Reporter said "Spielberg does more than justice to the granddaddy of all alien invasion tales", while the New York Times said that "Spielberg's extraterrestrials are wicked scary ... this film is nerve-rackingly apocalyptic."
Not everyone agreed, however. "It's not the end of the world. You just wish it were by the end of the movie," said the San Jose Mercury News.
"'War of the Worlds'" is a picture without a thought in its pretty head: the Tom Cruise movie to end all Tom Cruise movies. If we're lucky," said the California daily.
Visit our database for media and our own review of the film.
© dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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