WAR OF THE WORLDS (2025) ½ *

You all know me.  You know how I earn my living.  You know I been watching bad movies since I was a wee lad.  When this Amazon Original first found its way onto Prime, a lot of folks instantly christened it the “Worst Movie of the Year”.  That piqued my interest something fierce.  The fact that it is essentially H.G. Wells’ classic by way of a Zoom call was kind of a turn off for me because if it’s anything I hate more than a “Found Footage” movie it’s a “Screen Record” movie where the filmmakers tell their story via a laptop full of open windows featuring characters having Microsoft Teams conversations, texting, and emailing one another.  

Nevertheless, I persisted.  I watched every blessed minute of it.  Let me tell you, I was rooting for the aliens.  

Ice Cube stars as a Department of Homeland Security analyst who receives word that aliens have landed.  Before long, they are attacking major cities across the globe.  While planning a means of defense for the government, he keeps in contact with his kids to make sure they’re safe.  Eventually, he teams up with his hacker son to infect the aliens with a fatal virus. 

The first fifteen minutes or so feature Cube using his top security clearance and high-tech surveillance equipment to keep tabs on his kids.  This might’ve made for an OK comedy by itself, but for a War of the Worlds adaptation, it just starts things off on the wrong foot.  Once the aliens attack though I found myself yearning for those scenes, mostly because they were at least somewhat novel.  The stuff with the aliens (all filmed on someone’s phone and/or seen on security cameras) is weak, and the effects will make one wistful for an Asylum mockbuster.  (It’s obvious the CGI is merely superimposed over existing file footage.)

The big problem of course is the screen record aesthetic.  You can’t make a movie about a battle between humans and aliens and put it on a goddamn Zoom call and expect the moviegoing public to swallow it.  Yes, I know it was filmed during the pandemic.  Yes, if it had been released during that time, I could have been more forgiving.  However, the fact that it sat on the shelf for five years after it was completed is telling of just how lame it really is. 

Another problem is Ice Cube’s performance.  Most of the movie is comprised of watching his reaction shots to massive damage created by aliens.  He’s just not a nuanced enough actor to sell it.  Most of his reactions just involve him yelling, “Damn” when he sees an alien or “I got you!” while trying to reassure his kids.  The fact that he rarely leaves his office doesn’t help break up the monotony either. 

Speaking as a bad movie fan, there were moments that even tested my mettle.  Your endurance level may vary.  I have a feeling that for even for the most jaded fan of Grade-Z junk, War of the Worlds will be an uphill battle.