As promised, the 2025 take on H.G. Wells’ alien invasion classic The War of the Worlds is indeed “worse than you think.”
You’ve probably heard as much in recent days, what with the Rich Lee-directed film’s arrival on Prime Video and all. Ice Cube and Eva Longoria lead the cast, with their involvement in the perplexingly low-energy project first confirmed nearly five years ago.
But exactly how poorly executed is this latest take on the Wells classic? As of this writing, it’s resting at zero percent—not nearly zero, actually zero—on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. It hasn’t fared much better on Metacritic, where its Metascore remains TBD but its user score, at 1.8, is squarely in the Overwhelming Dislike category. For comparison’s sake, consider this: 2017’s The Emoji Movie, once the bane of this writer’s existence and a frequent target of mid-article strays, stands at six percent on the Tomatometer.
Some have mildly complimented elements of the premise, which positions the story to take place entirely on various screens, including a computer operated by Cube’s character, a “domestic terror analyst” for Homeland Security. But the execution of that premise, complete with all manner of bumbling and hackneyed indignities, more than leaves something to be desired.
Among the convictionless line deliveries you’ll hear in the first few minutes of this WOTW are “I watch people not weather,” “I’ve got bigger fish to fry than watching clouds,” and “Let’s just say me and your fridge is pretty tight.” Meanwhile, rampant product placement is not a bug but a feature, with one such brand conspicuously featured on at least two occasions, and that’s just in the first eight minutes of the film.
As for the effects, well, they too are, suffice to say, not good. All of this is especially a shame when looking back at what past incarnations of the Wells story got very right, namely the Tom Cruise-led Spielberg version from 20 years ago that boasts what is still arguably one of TC’s best-ever performances.
Go watch that version instead. But first, here are those WOTW 2025 reactions you were looking for:
