"War of the Worlds" is a War on the Senses

In 1938, Orson Welles famously put on a radio production of War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, a science fiction work about martians invading planet Earth. The radio play soon gained infamy after a staggering number of listeners tuned in halfway through and genuinely thought the world was under attack by aliens and they were hearing the chaos play out in real time. While this is easily the most famous rendition of Wells' work, it is far from the only one. Since being published in 1898, War of the Worlds has been adapted dozens of times through every type of media imaginable. This year, the classic was brought back to screens once again in the form of Rich Lee's War of the Worlds by Universal Pictures, and despite just how long this story has been around, and how many times it's been told, everyone seems to be in agreement that this is the worst one yet.

Out of all adaptations of War of the Worlds, 2025's version is by far the most modern, taking place entirely within the confines of a computer screen. The story follows Ice Cube's character, Will Radford, a father and recent widower who works for the US Department of Homeland Security and has apparently unlimited access to all of the country's security cameras and the data of those who appear on them. His world is turned upside down one day when gigantic robots from outer space wreak havoc on Earth, and all he can do is watch from behind a screen. The film also stars Eva Longoria, Devon Bostick and Clark Gregg, but you'd be hard pressed to find a performance in this film that isn't noticeably abysmal.

War of the Worlds is a special case. It's clearly a low-budget film that the studio didn't think a lot of people would end up seeing. At the end of the day, it was a steady check for the cast and crew. But in a shocking turn of events, the film has been getting heaps of attention simply for being one of the most blatantly inept films of the decade so far. In other words, it's so bad people can't help but pay attention. It debuted with a shocking score of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is just about as rare as a film getting a 100%. Now, a week since its release, the film has only managed to climb its way up to a measly 4%. Despite only being August, people online feel more than comfortable referring to it as the "worst film of the year," and after watching this brief 89 minute film, it's easy to see where they're coming from. It's clear that this is already becoming a black mark on the resumes of every cast and crew member involved and it's only been out for a week.

It's utterly baffling to see how War of the Worlds does absolutely nothing right. None of the characters have any depth, the special effects are staggeringly bad, and the story doesn't make any sense. Perhaps the most glaring flaw is that this iconic story is supposed to feel grandiose, suspenseful, larger than life, but when you base the entire film within the confines of a computer screen, all of those stakes disappear. It's also just laughable to think that during a world-ending invasion, these characters would spend the majority of their time on video chat.

It's extremely strange to see a film backed by not only Universal but also Amazon look this cheap. It feels like the film's entire budget was spent on casting Ice Cube, who gives one of the flattest performances of his career, a sentiment that applies to every other cast member. These characters quite literally have their names accompany their face every time they're on screen and I still can't find myself remembering any of their names.

Above all, War of the Worlds completely fails at making the audience believe that there's any kind of war taking place. There's no room for you to suspend your disbelief because of how shoddily everything is put together. The footage doesn't look real, the plot point of the space robots eating data as fuel makes no sense, so how exactly is one meant to possibly enjoy this movie? The majority of this film is just existing news footage of war and national disasters. A move that I simply cannot describe as anything other than pure laziness, something more akin to an undergrad film student thesis than a major studio feature.

Rich Lee's War of the Worlds isn't just bad, it's a total waste of time. Without a single strong character, plot point, or line of dialogue, it's easy to see why it's Rotten Tomatoes' latest addition to their 100 Worst Movies of All Time list. There's no doubt that at this very moment, H.G. Wells is turning in his grave.