Have to say I was disappointed with it. Not that it was bad, but I was hoping for a little bit of greatness which has continued to elude Spielberg since Saving Private Ryan.

The aliens and CGI were great. The sense of scale and power of their machines was very well done and very menacing.

However, two things got on my nerves. While I like the idea of viewing the invasion from one man's POV, I really wasn't that interested in his relationship problems he had with his wife and his kids. I mean, when you have an apocalypse on your hands I think EVERYONE, including otherwise smug teenagers, will snap to attention and stop the bickering. For me, it doesn't add a "human element", it is just annoying.

The other thing is that they missed a chance to update the story a bit with regard to technology and, frankly, believability. *SLIGHT SPOILER AHEAD* I think that once the conventional weapons had failed utterly, the tac nukes would have been flying. Could have made for some great fight scenes. Also, the whole thing about the aliens dying from the flu is no longer a surprise ending...and never was believable. I mean, they plan far enough ahead to bury their war machines thousands (millions?) of years before their invasion, but they can't take the time to figure out if Earth is actually inhabitable for them?

I think they were on to something near the end when the people were being picked up and processed by the machines. This movie could have been a lot more horrific if it had kept up that tone. And really, isn't the extinction of the human race a pretty horrific premise? Why not keep it that way?

Still, I give the movie a B overall for entertainment value.