Variety
A gritty, intense and supremely accomplished sci-fier about some distinctly unbenign alien invaders.
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War of the Worlds
Steven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise as Ray, a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. After his ex-wife and her new husband drop of his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a wee problem emerges: aggressive alien invaders from space. Based on the novel by H.G. Wells.
2005116 minsUSA
AdventureBlockbuster
War of the Worlds / Reviews
Hollywood Reporter
Exploring the dark side of his old films E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg more than does justice to the granddaddy of all alien-invasion tales, H.G. Wells' still terrifying novel published in 1898.
Full reviewThe New York Times
Steven Spielberg's reasonably entertaining rendering of the 1898 H. G. Wells novel is an elemental story of predator and prey.
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Los Angeles Times
With War of the Worlds [Spielberg] has made what is arguably one of the best 1950s science fiction films ever.
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Roger Ebert
War of the Worlds is a big, clunky movie containing some sensational sights but lacking the zest and joyous energy we expect from Steven Spielberg.
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Empire Magazine
A greatest-hits package from our greatest living entertainer, there is almost overmuch to admire here, but only the moments that aspire to post-9/11 relevance chill as well as thrill.
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The Age
Bewildered, mildly optimistic, holding out the hope of salvation in spite of everything in a blasted, empty landscape, War of the World is, in the end, and perhaps despite its intentions, a fairly tentative assertion of hope for the future.
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Rolling Stone
H.G. Wells wouldn't recognize his 1898 alien-invasion novel, The War of the Worlds, in Steven Spielberg's updated film version. But Wells could probably relate to the ensuing fear and panic.
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A.V. Club
There likely won't be a more gripping film this year than Spielberg's War Of The Worlds, which at its best glides along like choreography with a camera, slowly parsing out information while shrouding the rest in shadow and suggestion.
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Film Threat
Rarely has the term 'Hollywood ending' been quite as appropriate, and seldom has a denouement of that nature come so close to tainting all that came before.
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