War of the Worlds poster

2005·117 min·Released

War of the Worlds

“They're already here.”

Adventure
Thriller
Science Fiction

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.

6.6(9,282 votes)

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Cast & Crew

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise

Ray

Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning

Rachel

Miranda Otto

Miranda Otto

Mary Ann

Justin Chatwin

Justin Chatwin

Robbie

Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins

Harlan Ogilvy

Rick Gonzalez

Rick Gonzalez

Vincent

Yul Vazquez

Yul Vazquez

Julio

Lenny Venito

Lenny Venito

Manny The Mechanic

Lisa Ann Walter

Lisa Ann Walter

Bartender

Ann Robinson

Ann Robinson

Grandmother

Gene Barry

Gene Barry

Grandfather

David Alan Basche

David Alan Basche

Tim

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Peter McGinn

Written on 4/5/2020

I enjoyed this entry into the HG Wells film library. The special effects are great (to this amateur anyway) and the acting and action more than adequate. Plus it stays near enough to the sci-fi genius of the author to satisfy the fans of the classic novel. I will say that I got a little tired of the son acting like such a teenager, but he and the Tom Cruise character both show some character growth by the end of the film. Tom is one of those actors who seems to be playing himself a lot, but I suspect there is a lot more work to it than that. I'm not sure Dustin Hoffman would have gotten his Academy Award for Rain Man if he had played off a lesser actor than Cruise. I think there are a couple of scenes the movie could have done without, such as in the cellar with Cruise, his daughter and the man who lived there. It slowed the story down, changed the tenor of the drama, and didn't add a lot, in my view. But it is what it is and overall I found War of the Worlds to be entertaining. Good science fiction movies can be hard to find.

JPV852

Written on 5/9/2020

First time seeing this in 15 years and lame plot, annoying characters (both kids got on my nerves) and a protagonist who just runs around, as Tom Cruise does so well, but has zero impact on the end game which was... bacteria. Yeah, this was just as dumb today as it was back then. At least the visual effects and sound design still holds up. **2.5/5**

CinemaSerf

Written on 2/13/2023

Sometimes it just pays to leave well alone, and this remake of the 1953 version adds nothing aside from more sophisticated special effects. A vehicle for Tom Cruse, it allows Stephen Spielberg to turn this menacing and thought-provoking sci-fi classic into a family melodrama with the star and his dysfunctional family travelling the breadth of the country trying to escape the terror that is falling from the skies. These metallic creations are ruthless, destroying everything in their path but somehow the emphasis of this is more on why "Ray" can't get on with "Robbie" (Justin Chatwin) and whether or not "Rachel" (Dakota Fanning) can keep hold of her childhood toy. The effects are good: the lasers and the pyrotechnics; the explosions and scenes of dereliction are impressive - but oddly enough, I found them less so than in the iteration made fifty years earlier. Lots of horrified expressions as the cast look longingly at green screens, some banal dialogue and we end up with a film about the people in/behind it rather than one about alien world domination. After almost two hours, the ending - and it's huge significance - is almost an afterthought to the boring story of who did what to whom over the years in the "Ferrier" family. Cruise can, at times, bring charisma to the screen. Here he brings little and I am afraid that I found this a triumph of commercialism over creativity and was cheerily egging on the aliens from fairly early on.

Rob

Written on 6/25/2023

An intense, serious and harrowing portrayal of the H.G. Wells classic. Tom Cruise doing an excellent job of not being Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning out acting everyone. It's hard to call this film an enjoyable watch as it's actually emotionally affecting at times, with some very raw realism concerning human nature. This movie manages to keep a constantly high pace without being exhausting to watch. Well worth a place in your collection.

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Tom Cruise Hunted by Alien Drone

Tom Cruise Hunted by Alien Drone

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