Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, language in flawed but interesting adaptation.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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War of the Worlds (2025)
What's the Story?
William Radford (Ice Cube) is a domestic terrorism analyst at the US Department of Homeland Security in WAR OF THE WORLDS. He spends his life on computer screens analyzing terror threats, and also keeping a close eye through omnipresent surveillance tools on his grown children, video game player David (Henry Hunter Hall) and pregnant daughter, talented biologist Faith (Iman Benson). When weird weather incidents lead to a meteor shower, the world is unprepared for what's inside the meteors—large alien creatures with seemingly limitless ability to destroy earth and steal our data. It might be up to William, his NASA colleague Sandra (Eva Longoria), and his children to save the world.
Is It Any Good?
A tale as old as, well, H.G. Wells' 1898 book, has been dubiously reimagined here for the digital age. Told entirely via screens, the concept for this latest retelling of War of the Worlds could have gotten stale quickly. The story manages to stay mostly interesting despite seriously questionable action, plot holes, and overwrought scenarios. If you focus on Ice Cube's Radford, there's some meat to the tale of a worrywart dad and widower with unlimited surveillance capacity. The film draws a few provocative (though hardly new) messages about our online lives. In sum, a flawed film but not a total waste of your time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the demonstration of extreme surveillance depicted in War of the Worlds. Does the portrayal feel relevant to your own life? Does it frighten you? What power do you have?
What are the motivations of David's disruptor group? How does William come around to their point of view? What's your take?
Have you read the original novel and/or seen other screen adaptations of it? How does this telling compare?
What did you think of the film being told entirely through screens? Have you seen this done before?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : July 30, 2025
- Cast : Ice Cube , Eva Longoria , Iman Benson
- Director : Rich Lee
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Director(s) , Black Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Prime Video
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , Aliens , Book Characters , Activism ( Climate change ) , Family Stories ( Dads , Moms , Siblings , Single Parents ) , Dystopia , Holidays ( Father's Day ) , Fantasy ( Monsters ) , STEM ( Nature , Science ) , Space , History ( War: Other )
- Run time : 89 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images
- Last updated : September 4, 2025
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