War of the Worlds.. an epic or a flop?

I was lucky, or unlucky, enough to see War of the Worlds last night.
Yes, you guessed it.
I wasn’t as impressed by it as I would have liked to have been.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, you know that its been made with a massive budget. And from a technical point of view it probably is a masterpiece of CGI. The visual effects throughout the film are impressive, but why did I find myself fidgeting?
One possible explanation is the director himself. Spielberg has made some of cinema’s more memorable moments. Who can forgot the power of Schindler’s List? Or, if you are old enough, the haunting notes of First Encounters?
With a track record like his it is doubtful that a studio would dare cut scenes without the director’s explicit permission. And that is the problem. The editing, or maybe the lack of it.
The opening scenes build up a clear picture of the main protagonist, Ray (Cruise) and his relationship with society and his children.
So we have characterisation, one which is extended nicely with the other characters. What we don’t have is pace or continuity, or at least that was the impression I got.
The action is completely disjointed. There are some fantastic scenes with the alien tripods and the humans being exterminated – hardly a spoiler as this is a remake/reworking – but it doesn’t seem to hang together. It’s as if you were looking at a messy patchwork quilt. Some of the squares are missing, some are in the wrong place and others simply should not be there at all.
If you enjoy special effects or are a Tom Cruise fan wait until it comes out on DVD, as it is not worth the €7.50 it cost me to see it.
If you really want War of the World’s then why not listen to the version with Burton?