War of the Worlds

Name: War of the Worlds
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller
Released: June 29, 2005
Duration: 116 min
Rating: 73
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Tom Cruise

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 1253 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	Your Score
7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 1253 Ratings

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War Of The Worlds

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 29, 2005 | PG-13

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Tom Cruise

Summary: A contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells's seminal classic, the sci-fi adventure thriller reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it. (Paramount Pictures)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 116 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Kenneth Turan

Working in the spirit of his predecessors but with the kind of uncanny special effects they could barely dream of, Spielberg has come up with an impressive production that is disturbing in the way only provocative science fiction can be. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

A gritty, intense and supremely accomplished sci-fier. Read full review

Kirk Honeycutt

Might be too realistic for its own good: The film takes perhaps a little too much glee in its abilities to manufacture mayhem. That being said, the ride is extraordinary. Read full review

Shawn Levy

Alas, Robbins is far more interesting than Cruise, and you wonder what the film would have been like if their roles were reversed -- if Robbins were the loser in search of redemption and Cruise the agitated freak in the basement. Read full review

Dana Stevens

Acting is not really the point of this movie, which seems to arise above all from Mr. Spielberg's desire to reaffirm that he is, along with everything else, a master of pure action filmmaking. Read full review

Lou Lumenick

Now that this technically impressive - but seriously flawed and self-referential - remake is finally in theaters to swell the July 4 weekend box office, conversation will doubtless shift to the lamest ending yet to a Steven Spielberg movie. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

Extravagant in movie terms but stingy in emotional ones, it embodies all of Spielberg's bad impulses and almost none of his good ones: It's a grand display of how well he knows how to work us over, and yet the desperation with which he tries to get to us is repulsive. Read full review

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User Reviews

Juanolo

Apr 2, 2012

First off, I would give this a 9.5 out if 10. Acting is good. Not amazing, but everyone does a good job. Score was really good. Had an incredible story. It also has really good special effects and great set pieces. Overall, this is a really good movie. Great movie, and one of my favorite TomFirst off, I would give this a 9.5 out if 10. Acting is good. Not amazing, but everyone does a good job. Score was really good. Had an incredible story. It also has really good special effects and great set pieces. Overall, this is a really good movie. Great movie, and one of my favorite Tom cruise movie. Highly recommended.… Expand

13 of 15 users found this helpful132

SebastianB.

Nov 23, 2005

This was a great movie! excellent special effects, and Tom Cruise did a great job in this movie

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MatthewJ.

Aug 30, 2005

Great movie...in the vein of other great horror remakes like Invasion of the body snatchers and the thing!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

glomman

Jun 11, 2022

It's an alright 'desaster' movie. However, given the source material, it's really lacking both character development, pace, and it generally feels cut short almost everywhere. It's not necessarily a bad adaptation, it's certainly fun to watch, but it feels incredibly bland and flattened outIt's an alright 'desaster' movie. However, given the source material, it's really lacking both character development, pace, and it generally feels cut short almost everywhere. It's not necessarily a bad adaptation, it's certainly fun to watch, but it feels incredibly bland and flattened out once you consider that it stems from one of the greatest authors of the past two centuries.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ArkonBlade

Aug 28, 2010

the plot of the original war of the worlds film was better then this. the original was about how helpless we where against a aliens invasion focusing on the the military just getting beatin down . the new one is all about the survivle of tom cruises charicter and his 2 obnoxous kids. thethe plot of the original war of the worlds film was better then this. the original was about how helpless we where against a aliens invasion focusing on the the military just getting beatin down . the new one is all about the survivle of tom cruises charicter and his 2 obnoxous kids. the aliens are only there to chase him down . while this is not completely unentertaining it just doesnt bring what the original had to the table . woulda been better served being called some thing els .… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Quelhas

Sep 15, 2015

This site doesn't allow me to write just one word, that for me, best describes this movie, so I'm writing this just to submit that word that best describes the feeling I had watching this at the cinema: Painful.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

midig8r

Aug 22, 2005

Stop! Don't waste your money on this piece of garbage. Cruise and Spielberg can't rescue this. No story, half done special effects, overused cliches, and, did I say waste of your time? As a long time SciFi fan, I felt I overpaid seeing this POS at the 2 buck discount theater. See Stop! Don't waste your money on this piece of garbage. Cruise and Spielberg can't rescue this. No story, half done special effects, overused cliches, and, did I say waste of your time? As a long time SciFi fan, I felt I overpaid seeing this POS at the 2 buck discount theater. See the original...much better!!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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87	#87 Best Movie of 2005
11	#11 Most Discussed Movie of 2005
21	#21 Most Shared Movie of 2005