War of the Worlds (2005) Synopsis & Movie Info

After a few go-rounds giving benevolent aliens their due ('E.T.,' 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'), Steven Spielberg tackles a story where the extraterrestrials most definitely do not come in peace. In this retelling of the H.G. Wells classic, Spielberg joins forces with Tom Cruise to depict the harrowing struggle for the survival of humankind through the eyes of one family. Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a working-class divorced dad living in New Jersey. He's estranged from his family, he's self-centered, and his life is in utter shambles. When his small-town existence is shaken violently by the arrival of Martians bent on sending Earth into oblivion, he must come to the defense of his children, overcoming an even more potent enemy -- the demons that lurk within.