War of the Worlds came seemingly out of nowhere, with no real buildup or hype behind Amazon Prime’s newest film. After viewing the movie, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was made the day before its release.
Director Rich Lee delivers his feature-length debut with War of the Worlds, previously having worked on a short film about Fergie and a couple other smaller projects.
The movie stars Ice Cube, known and loved in classics like Friday and 21 Jump Street, but unfortunately the script is too tight and serious for him to shine as he normally would.
Michael O’Neill and Clark Gregg, both known for their larger action roles, are also featured. Outside of them, the rest of the crew is relatively new to the film game.
This movie also, unsurprisingly, is not an original work, with a novel by H.G. Wells originally published in 1898, as well as a much bigger budgeted movie adaptation released in 2005.
As for the plot, I’ll keep it brief. The movie is unique in the fact that it takes place entirely through a computer camera, a modern tactic used by filmmakers for aesthetic reasons and to save on budget costs, as the need for larger set pieces decreases. Sadly, this medium is quickly abused.
Especially towards the first half of the film, these weird, glitchy overlays are used repeatedly, which are clearly meant to hide the cheap, ultra digital looking effects.
The owner of the computer, DEH agent Will Radford, played by Ice Cube, is a ridiculously overpowered hacker who is able to effortlessly hack into drones, cell phone conversations, and even home technology without a trace.
The movie doesn’t even attempt to explain how this hacking works, and it’s evident the hacking is just an excuse to cover up whatever plot holes they couldn’t fill creatively.
The viewer is quickly introduced to an onslaught of characters that appear throughout the rest of the film. The most important of these characters consist of Will’s children, Faith and David Radford, as well as Faith’s boyfriend Mark.
The film, produced by Prime Video, takes this opportunity to advertise Amazon, with Mark working a job as an Amazon truck driver.
The main conflict is introduced rather suddenly, as asteroids filled with aliens rain down upon the Earth. NASA as well as the FBI turn to Will for a solution, and the rest of the movie follows Will as he tries to find answers, as well as protect his kids from a distance.
It’s clear the second half of the film is rushed, perhaps more so than the first, as the ending is seemingly thrown together at random and makes no sense.
War of the Worlds is rather unclear in its structure and overall theme. There are clearly some undertones about how the world reacts during tragedy, as well as some commentary on power struggles within the government, but the film lacks the creativity or effort to really build on these things.
As far as the technical aspects go, the effects are below average, the soundtrack is nonexistent, and the story is shallow, all accompanied by some of the most awkward line delivery I’ve ever heard.
A great chunk of the movie is spent with Ice Cube, alone, mumbling at his computer screen, making for a rather awkward and unengaging watch.
Watching the film’s multiple attempts to be heartfelt is pretty rough, as well, as the lack of physical contact between characters makes this task rather impossible.
For instance, it’s simply impossible to feel for Will as he watches his kids nearly die several times over a facetime call, especially due to the poor acting.
Perhaps the most shameful thing about War of the Worlds, however, is the blatant, in your face advertisements for Amazon, with the entire ending of the film reliant on a Prime delivery, showing the film’s real motive as a careless cash grab for Amazon Prime.
I, along with a very large majority of the internet, did not love War of the Worlds. As far as critics go, they see many of the same things as I do, with the film scoring a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2.5/10 on IMDb.
If there were any positive things to say about War of the Worlds, I would point them out, but sadly even the best qualities are still below average at best.
Needless to say, I absolutely do not recommend this film, and frankly I think any success this movie gets could be harmful toward the film world, as larger streaming companies continue to pump out careless media.
My final rating of War of the Worlds is a comfy 0.5/5.
