One Movie Later: War of the Worlds…Yeah, It’s Really That Bad!
by James Coulter
Since its publication in 1898, H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds has served as the template for alien invasion stories. The novel itself has received countless adaptations, the most infamous being a 1938 radio drama that fooled many listeners into believing it was a real alien invasion.
War of the Worlds has been adapted into film (including two notable movies in 1953 and 2005), video games, and even a rock opera. Now, in 2025, Amazon released its own film adaptation that boldly answers the question: “What if an alien invasion was observed through one person’s computer screen? And alsodoubled as a commercial for Amazon?”
Yes, that premise is as bad as it sounds. And the overwhelming negative reviews prove it. There’s no doubt the movie is one of the worst of the year. So, the question isn’t so much, “Is it bad?” but rather, “How bad is it?”
The film follows William Radford (played by Ice Cube), a DHS agent who spies on American citizens for the sake of national security. In fact, he’s so certain that mass surveillance is necessary that he even uses his job to spy on his own adult children. However, his belief in security over liberty is challenged when the Earth is invaded by aliens, and…well, if you’re familiar with the plot of War of the Worlds, you know how the story unfolds.
This version of War of the Worlds has been adapted into the screenlife subgenre, which tells stories through the perspective of a single computer screen. Screenlife was popularized with movies like Unfriended (which, ironically enough, was produced by the same person who produced this movie). And while movies like Searching and Missing show the subgenre’s potential, movies like this prove its overwhelmingly poor reputation.
Undoubtedly, the movie’s worst aspect is its cinematography and special effects. This movie was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it shows. Most of the film involves characters talking with each other via video chat. The rest of the film consists of stock footage being passed off as “real” video. The footage of the alien spacecraft is the worst offender, as the CGI looks worse than a PS2 video game.
The only thing phonier than the special effects is the acting, especially with the main character. Ice Cube’s performance can be best described as Samuel L. Jackson if he were given a dozen Benadryl. Ice Cube is on record saying he shot his scenes for this movie in 15 Days isolated from the director and other actors. I believe him. Because his acting proves that to be true.
Not helping matters is how his role is essentially watching the events of the movie unfold from his computer screen from a single location and reacting with the most underwhelming reactions, usually by whispering “damn.” When you react to the military destroying an alien spaceship the same way you’d react to a touchdown during a football game, you know your acting is weak.
Oh, and could you tell this movie was created by Amazon for its Prime Video streaming service? Because the movie never forgets to remind you of that fact. The main character’s job is frequently derided as spying on people’s Amazon carts. One of the characters is literally an Amazon delivery person, and the climactic scene involves him delivering a jump drive with a computer virus to destroy the alien ships using an Amazon delivery drone. (Mankind’s salvation, brought to you by Amazon!)
No, actually, I take it back. The worst part of the movie is its angle on mass surveillance. War of the Worlds has often been adapted to comment on the current cultural anxiety. The original novel was a condemnation of British imperialism. The 1953 movie tapped into Cold War paranoia, while the 2005 movie tapped into post-9/11 trauma.
And this recent adaptation? A not-so-subtle commentary on mass government surveillance. The aliens literally invade Earth to steal the world’s data, and they’re able to do this because of the mass surveillance undertaken by the world’s governments, including the American government.
The movie’s message is as subtle as a brick: mass surveillance is bad. However, that message is severely undercut by the main character working in the surveillance state. While the character’s arc undoubtedly involves him learning the error of his ways, his actions in the movie carry some creepy implications.
Will Radford literally uses his job to spy on his own kids. He hacks into his pregnant daughter’s fridge, spies on her in a coffee shop, then chides her for having a muffin for breakfast.
He also hacks into his son’s computer, deletes a new video game, then chides his son for his chosen profession as a video game streamer. Then, later in the movie, he hacks into a Tesla vehicle and programs it to drive his daughter to safety.
Forget aliens invading Earth. A government agent being able to do all of that from his computer is a far scarier prospect, because—holy s***!—is that a dystopian nightmare that makes Orwell’s 1984 look like a utopia in comparison.
So, yeah! This movie is bad. It’s not even “so bad, it’s good” like The Room or Sharknado, as many other reviewers have compared it to. It’s just cheap, boring, and dull. This movie about a man watching a cheap alien movie from his computer screen is about as appealing as…well, a man watching a cheap alien movie from his computer screen.
