Spielberg's "War of the Worlds"

Anyone else see Spielberg's new "War of the Worlds" adaptation? I saw it the day it came out, and was very disappointed with the message (or lack thereof) that came across--it certainly WASN'T Wells' philosophy of the new social order/world government that is presumably supposed to arise out of the attack from outer space. (In addition, in Spielberg's adaptation, it isn't even hinted that the aliens are from Mars, or why they are there at all--in the book they are there because their planet is dying [nebular and entropy theories] and they are acting under urgent necessity in an attempt to colonize Earth so that their species does not die out--in the movie, the character who represents both the curate and the artilleryman quotes a phrase from the novel: "This isn't a war; it's an extermination," and that's the most that's said in the movie about why the Martians are there).

I'm not sure if Spielberg just plain forgot, didn't care, or if he had his own personal agenda in creating his adaptation (this is a very critical word here) of Wells' masterpiece. Or, perhaps he was too ignorant to realize that there even WAS a message in the story...I wouldn't any of these things past him.

What do you guys think of the movie (and how it relates to Wells' notion of a "New Republic"), those of you who have seen it or read reviews?

x-posted to wells_world_