STEVEN Spielberg's updated film version of HG Wells' 1898 novel is one of the most costly Hollywood blockbusters ever made.

It's easy to see why as this story of an alien invasion is a special effects spectacular.

But the question is, was it worth it?

The first act captures the right mood for an impending disaster, showing how the everyday can suddenly be shattered by the unexpected.

Failed father Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), a New Jersey dock worker, gets dumped with his two children (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) just as hostile alien Tripods rise out of the ground during an electrical storm and start laying waste.

Stealing the only car the aliens haven't immobilized, the Ferriers take off to Boston to find the kids' remarried mum (Miranda Otto) and safety.

Their road trip is a raw tale of survival and Spielberg gives the viewer not a moment's respite from the horror.

Cruise puts in a solid performance but the script makes the children so bratty and sullen, I was beginning to hope they would be zapped.

The film is too burdened with post 9/11 and Holocaust imagery, diluting its impact. Although so slick, it is somewhat soulless.

The two-disc special edition has a host of bonus features for the sci-fi fanatic.

PGW