War Of The Worlds (2025): A Disaster Of A Movie

Intellects vast, cool, and unsympathetic towards good film-making

There’s an argument that we don’t need any more adaptations of The War Of The Worlds. It’s been done so many times, officially and unofficially, in so many different ways, the argument runs, that surely there’s nothing new to say about it and we can focus our efforts on other works that have entered the public domain. Or maybe — and here’s a wild thought — create something entirely original.

And while I’m not opposed to that argument, I think there’s always space for an interesting new take on an old work. For instance, a couple of years ago, I saw Rhum + Clay’s theatrical version of it which mixed the original story with Orson Welles’s famed radio adaptation and physical theatre, creating a fascinating night. After watching that, I thought there’s still a lot to say about both the original story and the ways it flows through our culture and creates new myths of its own.

And then a couple of nights ago I watched Amazon’s new film adaptation of it and now I feel like I never want to see another version of it in any medium for fears I’ll have flashbacks to this truly appalling take. (Spoilers ahead, be warned if you’re planning to watch it)

If you really want to see it, click here