Cinematic garbage. Many films are deserving of this title, but recently, no film fits this description more than 2025’s “War of the Worlds,” the latest adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel. I recently watched the film with my partner, and it is quite possibly one of the worst films that I have ever seen.
This adaptation follows William Radford (played by Ice Cube), an analyst for Homeland Security who utilizes Guardian, a mass surveillance program, to not only track possible threats, but also to spy on his own children: Faith (Iman Benson) and David (Henry Hunter Hall).
His day starts by tracking a hacker only known as the Disruptor, but it soon takes a bizarre turn as strange weather incidents eventually lead to a massive alien invasion of the planet. As the aliens wreak havoc on planet Earth, William keeps in contact with his family along with NASA Scientist Sandra Salas (Eva Longoria) and FBI Agent Sheila Jeffries (Andrea Savage).
This also includes Zoom calls with government heads, such as NSA Director Donald Briggs (played by Clark Gregg, best known for roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and on the sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine”).
Ice Cube delivers quite possibly the worst performance of the year as William Radford. He delivers his lines like he is reading them off the script, and displays reactions that feel more like a response to spilling a cup of coffee rather than witnessing traumatic events right in front of his eyes. No scene says this more than a sequence involving a crucial Zoom call with William and other government officials, in which he delivers his lines with no emotion whatsoever.
“War of the Worlds” is an example of the screenlife film, which includes films such as 2018’s “Searching” and 2014’s “Unfriended.” This visual style of film primarily takes place from the perspective of a screen (hence the name) and was pioneered by Timur Bekmambetov (who is one of the producers of the film). On the topic of visuals, the constant camera panning across the screen and ridiculous close-ups on William’s eyes and face are unserious, with the close-ups being downright comedic.
One of the worst aspects of the film is the blatant product placement. There are several moments where it felt more like an Amazon advertisement than a science fiction thriller, especially with scenes featuring the character Mark (Devon Bostick), an Amazon delivery driver and Faith’s partner. There is a sequence crucial to the film’s plot where Prime Air, of all services, plays a central role. This extends to a line of dialogue said by Mark in this same sequence that seems like it was only written to blatantly promote the service, which is made even worse when considering that this is an Amazon Prime-exclusive film.
The special effects and CGI are absolutely abhorrent. Instead of looking like a believable alien invasion, the CGI is more reminiscent of films produced by The Asylum, the same studio that made awful, low-budget films like “Sharknado” and “Attack of the Meth Gator,” which is especially baffling considering the film was distributed by Universal.
“War of the Worlds” is a cinematic disgrace, a film that makes so many wrong decisions. With a baffling leading performance, along with awful special effects and dialogue, it is one of the worst films that I have ever had the displeasure of viewing. If anyone decides to put themselves through this cinematic form of torture, do not watch it by yourself.
A true disgrace to cinema.
“War of the Worlds” is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
