Did you know Ice Cube is starring in a new version of War of the Worlds? Neither did we, until we happened upon the bombastic trailer on Amazon Prime on Wednesday. Premiering on the streamer on July 30 with only the merest hint of pre-release publicity, the movie is so niche (and unexpected, in every way) that it didn\u2019t even have a Rotten Tomatoes page until two days after its debut. (At time of publishing, there is no critical consensus, as the reviews number only four. Nor is there any plot description, and the poster used belongs to the 1953 version.) So what\u2019s the story behind this surprise War of the Worlds reboot? More importantly, does it hold a candle to the other adaptations?<\/p>\n
Is there a new version of War of the Worlds?<\/p>\n
This new adaptation of War of the Worlds has very little in common with H.G. Wells\u2019 classic source material, or any other mainstream adaptation, for that matter. It\u2019s part of the \u201cscreenlife\u201d sub-subgenre, which is a variation on the found footage concept. Screenlife movies differ in that they take place entirely on computers, phones, or tablets; and unlike found footage, screenlife chronicles events as they happen rather than showing us edited video after the fact. This is produced by Timur Bekmambetov, the Russian director behind Nightwatch (2005) and Wanted (2008), who for the best part of 20 years has been experimenting with (essentially inventing) the screenlife genre. He\u2019s previously produced Unfriended (2015), Searching (2018), and Missing (2022), three of the genre\u2019s most well-done and well-remembered films; and he directed Profile (2018), a lesser-known but deeply unsettling thriller about a journalist wooed by a jihadist whom she\u2019s assigned to cover.<\/p>\n
Bekmambetov does not direct this new War of the Worlds, instead passing the baton to music video helmer and 3D visualist Rich Lee, making his feature debut. On the merits of this picture, it\u2019ll probably be his last. War of the Worlds is by far the worst screenlife movie to date, a depressing and ceaseless experience even for those with a fondness for the genre. It stars Ice Cube, but one could argue that the chair on which he sits for the film\u2019s entire length is both more pivotal to the plot and a more compelling performer. Cube, it seems, agreed to appear in the movie only if his part could be shot entirely at his breakfast table on a single morning during the time it took him to consume a banana.<\/p>\n
Related: ’28 Years Later’ Is Now Streaming. Is It as Good as the Original?<\/a><\/p>\n What is War of the Worlds (2025) about?<\/p>\n The usually charismatic star plays Will, a bottom-rung government surveiler who has likely remained low on the totem pole due to how unabashedly corrupt he is. When we meet him, he\u2019s using his specialized skills to listen to the phone calls of teenage stoners and hack the security cameras of his local coffee shop, where he chastises his pregnant daughter for eating a muffin. A morning of actual work presents itself in the form of desperate entreaties from Dr. Sandra Salas (Eva Longoria), Will\u2019s NASA scientist friend, and FBI agent Sheila Jeffries (the brilliant Andrea Savage, unforgivably wasted). Strange things are coming from the sky, they tell him. Will\u2019s response? \u201cI don\u2019t watch the weather.\u201d Seriously, it\u2019s the weirdest establishment of a lead character, perhaps in any film. Creepy towards his daughter? Check. Morally dubious? Check. Ambivalent about his job and the people whom he\u2019s supposed to protect? Checkedy check check check.<\/p>\n The rest of the movie, which runs for an unending 89 minutes, consists of shaky handheld footage showing flashes of dismal CGI as the robots invade Earth, seen entirely through Will\u2019s computer. Through it all, Cube reacts from the confines of his office chair, adequately matching the sheer terror of a man realizing the last ice cream sandwich has been eaten. In too many ways, this War of the Worlds resembles one of those Z-grade monster invasion flicks that used to pop up on Mystery Science Theater 3000. There are no real characters or arcs, just faces to which the film cuts back amidst endless stock footage of military people doing military things, like firing missiles and flying jets. Those films would often trot out a vaguely respectable star of the day, like Peter Graves or Robert Stack. Here, the former NWA member is bequeathed that dubious honor.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the story behind Ice Cube\u2019s War of the Worlds?<\/p>\n So how did this low-rent version of War of the Worlds come to be? Deadline reported<\/a> on Sept. 24, 2020, that Bekmambetov had impressed Universal with a pitch for \u201ca grounded sci-fi film in the vein of District 9 that touches on themes of privacy versus surveillance\u201d that could be shot fully remotely amidst the pandemic. The studio reportedly loved the concept, which would allow for \u201ca production that had the look of [a] commercial event film but at the budget of a contained thriller\u201d and was excited that the movie would be \u201ca first of its kind at this scope.\u201d It was fast-tracked and went into production within the next month.<\/p>\n Nowhere in any of the production notices\u2014of which there are only two\u2014is War of the Worlds mentioned. There was no public tie between the \u201cuntitled Timur Bekmambetov project\u201d and H.G. Wells\u2019 classic property until the trailer for this updated version dropped on July 24, along with an announcement that it would premiere on Prime Video in a week\u2019s time. In fact, there seems to be no news articles or even public mentions of the movie between an Oct. 19, 2020, article, also in Deadline, announcing<\/a> Longoria\u2019s casting and the July 24, 2025, announcement.<\/p>\n Related: ‘Naked Gun’ Rotten Tomatoes Score Sets Franchise Record<\/a><\/p>\n This might indicate that 2025\u2019s War of the Worlds only became a War of the Worlds movie late in the day. Perhaps realizing they had on their hands a barely-releasable stinker of epic proportions, and desperate to recoup five years of financial output, those in charge decided to slap the War of the Worlds title on \u201cuntitled Timur Bekmambetov project\u201d to boost interest.<\/p>\n How the movie made its way from Universal to Prime Video is unclear, but it’s hard to imagine a film less fit for theatrical (or any) release. Certainly, the finished product bears no similarity to the subtle, satirical majesty of\u00a0District 9. Nor does it possess anything approaching an incisive message, or even a clear thesis, about surveillance and privacy. It would seem, from an outsider’s perspective, to be a complete duffer from all angles. And even Amazon is clearly embarrassed about the film. You’d think the streamer was trying to hide the movie entirely, were it not for the banner posters running rampant on the Prime Video homepage.<\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly interesting that its release is timed around the 20th anniversary of the Steven Spielberg adaptation and coincides with a new 4K restoration of the superior 1953 version (still the most impressive of the adaptations), which is currently making its way through cinemas nationwide, but are either of those sufficient reasons to release this strained franchise continuation?<\/p>\n Whether or not this began life as a War of the Worlds movie or not, this new version will go down in infamy as not only one of the worst Wells adaptations of all time but one of the worst movies ever made. The awfulness is so criminally cataclysmic that it almost begs to be seen, but it\u2019s probably more advisable to hold off and wait for the inevitable How Did This Get Made?\u00a0episode. This is one of those instantly fascinating pop-culture curios that will become pet obsessions in certain corners of the internet. Certainly, it\u2019s a film about which you\u2019d wish to read an entire book dissecting its creation. It\u2019s not worth watching, but it\u2019s definitely worth discussing.<\/p>\n Where can I watch War of the Worlds (2025)?War of the Worlds is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.<\/p>\n Related: Review: One of 2025’s Best-Reviewed Comedies Is Now Streaming<\/a><\/p>\n