War of the Worlds

PREMISE Blue-collar New Jersey dad Ray (Tom Cruise, top) and his daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning, bottom) find themselves at the epicenter of what looks like an earthquake. Actually, it's a Martian invasion. Uh-oh.

SLOGAN ''They're already here!''

TRAILER HIGHLIGHTS There's the archetypal Steven Spielberg shot of people staring upward in awe, but it's clear that they're not looking at the friendly aliens of Close Encounters or E.T. An elevated highway buckles like a rubber band. Lots of screaming.

PERCENTAGE OF PLOT SPOILED 20 percent — Spielberg wisely doesn't show us the aliens here.

VERDICT The gray sky, the lengthy opening segment devoted to establishing Cruise's character as a workaday dad, and the unseen menace make this movie look like an M. Night Shyamalan flick with a bigger FX budget. Still, once the carnage begins, this War looks pretty damn scary. Trailer grade: B+

(Watch the trailer on Moviefone)