Have none of you read the book?!? You should. It'll only take you a good afternoon to do so. Although Tom Cruise isn't my favorite of actors and I think Scientology is a... I'm not going to get into that. Just go here www.scientomogy.com . I thought he did a good job. I also liked Spielbergs adherence to the book by keeping the machines as tripods. Dakota didn't bother me that much but irked my GF to death as she's seemed to do to most of you guys. Overall I was very happy with the film. I'd seen it in the theater and even though I had to take time out get an usher to shut a woman up (she wouldn't stop talking) I still enjoyed it. Cajun you're GF close to what destroyed the aliens. It was the germs. As they began to get sick the shields dropped down. They also lived on the blood, they just didn't use it for the "terra-forming." I guess it would actually be Mars-a-forming. FWIW the original story was written during the point of German military build up in the late 1800s (book was first published in 1898). Paranoia in Great Britain surrounded it by some but not by others (as always) and Wells was smart enough to pick up on it and use it for his tale.
You don't even have to buy it or get it from the library. It entered the public domain and is available on Gutenberg... http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/36
