There is perhaps no other intellectual property more notorious than The War of the Worlds, with the H.G. Wells novel infamous for sparking outrage in the ’30s when it was first adapted into a radio play. Essentially, many tuned into the broadcast thinking they were hearing about the end of the world, causing moral panic. Since then, the book has seen multiple adaptations (around 30 in TV and film, depending on how loose an interpretation is acceptable for fans), with the first major movie by director Byron Haskin released in 1953.
The War of the Worlds would make its next notable mark on cinema in 2005, with Steven Spielberg adapting it and Tom Cruise starring. The movie would go on to become one of, if not the most divisive works by Spielberg, but it still showed the story had the power to resonate with audiences. Now, cut to 2025, with Rich Lee’s The War of the Worlds being released as a Prime Video exclusive. Much like Spielberg’s adaptation, the film has garnered negative buzz, with a 0% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 3.2/10 IMDB score, and a 1.4/5 Letterboxd score.
Will both movies share the similarity of being looked back on and reanalyzed after having a hostile reception? Truthfully, it seems that the 2025 film, initially shot in 2020, will be forgotten or the butt of jokes, even with an experienced and talented actor like Ice Cube in the lead role. Other than critical panning, the similarities between the two films are scant.
Similarities Between 2005 and 2025’s ‘The War of the Worlds’
The similarities between both versions of The War of the Worlds go as far as both being based on the same work by H.G. Wells, with some plot points close to one another. In both movies, you have a protagonist concerned about their kids, wherein the 2005 version, Tom Cruise, is actively in the chaos of the invasion, and in the 2025 one, Ice Cube, is monitoring his computer screen and uses technology as a tool to keep an eye on and assist his kids. Both films also focus on societal collapse, with the 2005 film more on the culture of the time and presenting it in “real-world” events, whereas the 2025 film, initially made during the pandemic, is all about images and videos being shared online.
The only aspect of both movies that is 100% the same is the use of the iconic tripod alien design. Yet, despite the movies being twenty decades apart, the alien design in the Tom Cruise-led visions of The War of the Worlds has a much superior design. Here, you could also argue that both films did a great job of showing the chaos of events going global, but with the movies’ different approaches to how they tell the story, this is a stretch. Instead of looking at similarities, it is the differences between the two that best highlight how vastly different an adaptation they are.
The Differences Between Both Versions of ‘The War of the Worlds’
Because 2025’s The War of the Worlds was filmed during the pandemic, the easiest approach to the project, and likely inspired by the circumstances, was to make it a “screenlife” horror movie; an offshoot of the found footage genre that tells much of its story through the screens (TV, computer, cellphones, Surveillance footage) a protagonist has access too. The screen life format has seen recent commercial success with both Searching and Missing, and The War of the Worlds (2025) tried to take a similar approach. Of course, the genre did not even exist in 2005, and even if it did, to think of Spielberg doing something that is not big budget with large sets seems impossible. In style and execution, the two films could not be more vastly different.
Ending spoiled for 2025’s War of the Worlds in paragraph below
The Tom Cruise-led The War of the Worlds takes its ending from the novel, with the aliens succumbing to Earth’s bacteria. This ending, in both the book and the film, does deliver some realistic sci-fi, as history has proven that separation by continent has the same effect on people; aliens from another planet seem probable to have an even more adverse reaction to visiting a new planet. The 2025 Rich Lee Film has a different means to handle the alien invasion, with Ice Cube using his tech know-how to hack alien ships (brought to you by Amazon technologies) and bring them crashing down. While both movies are in the realm of sci-fi, the ending to the 2025 film is the least believable scenario between the two.
Is Either Adaptation of ‘The War of the Worlds’ Worth Watching?
Steven Spielberg’s The War of the Worlds, while far from his best work, has been looked at more kindly with time, and there are those who do enjoy it; the movie is divisive, not panned. 2025’s adaptation, on the other hand, has had some pretty bad titles thrown at it, with some even going as far as to say it is the worst movie of all time; hyperbole, but indicative of the fan and critical reaction. Ultimately, if you are going to check out The War of the Worlds in any format, the best way is still through the book or the album Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (trust me on this one). Still, if you have to pick one film, go with the Tom Cruise version.
Ultimately, you can decide if you want to check out one or the other, with both available on streaming. 2025’s The War of the Worlds is streaming on Prime Video, while 2002’s The War of the Worlds is available to stream on Paramount+.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
