I got to see it on Sunday. It is a fantastic film. As Dave said, much better than I ever dared hope. I remember reading the original story when I was a kid and the image of the tripods has always haunted me. The George Pal version (which I have on DVD and love) dispensed with the tripods and had the aliens running around in space ships. But Spielberg brought them back! There is one memorable scene involving a ferry, giving nothing away, where an enormous tripod appears on a hilltop... it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. His handling of the 'Red Weed' is particularly horrifying. And there was something very chilling for me with his use of the crows at the end... enough said...
All in all I thought the 'updating' of the original was brilliant, even the extra bits such as the idea that they'd been here for thousands of years, just waiting for the right time. And the 'explanation' on the video footage of the CBS news crew about how the aliens used the lightning to 'board' their craft was well done and credible, although you might have to watch carefully to get it - watch out for that bit!
I was initially concerned about Tom Cruise playing the lead, but he managed to convince me. Despite all the hype, he is actually a very good actor, and it was good to see him play a part that wasn't the usual Hollywood gung-ho yanky hero.
It's a very gritty film and disturbingly realistic. That's undoubtedly one of the reasons why it succeeds. I think Peter Jackson turned the tide on the fantasy/sf genre by insisting that his Lord of the Rings be treated as 'real history', taking Tolkien's approach that fantasy worlds must be 'true to their own inner laws' in order for the audience to engage in that 'willing suspension of disbelief'. Maybe other film-makers have taken note.
Speaking of Jackson, they showed the shorts for his King Kong due for release in December... looking good!
If you like science fiction, particularly 'earth-based' science fiction, or if you just want to see a thinking man's disaster flick, you will like this film. Not too many films are worth every cent of the admission fee. This one is.
AHHH cant go to the War of the Worlds showing tonite because of early morn country work ...damn ....have to wait for fri nite and to complete the frustration i have to see Bewitched to compensate "she who must be obeyed" 
