Z/Web

Nothing too new here; it’s a by-the-numbers film in most respects, with better special effects and more story flaws than the original. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. It’s interesting, and there are some fascinating moments. I thought the little boy was grating and nasty for most of the film and then suddenly he changes (he’s reformed). It made no sense and was ineptly handled, but it’s unfortunately a key aspect of the plot. The best thing, for me, was that the way the aliens planned to destroy the earth was scientifically plausible: they released nanobots (microscopic robots) that swarm as a huge cloud and literally eat away buildings, machines, human beings, etc. and simply use the broken-down raw materials to build new nanobots and grow the swarm. The end result is that everything man-made on earth could be consumed, leaving nothing but nature left. That’s pretty cool and effective; I can’t remember what was supposed to happen in the original, but in most films like this the alien technology is just like magic and never explained. I was worried this film would be preachy, as it has a pro-environment theme, but it’s minimally addressed and just hinted at, so that was good. But there really isn’t anything here you have to see other than a few scenes with interesting effects.