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Movies / On DVD / War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds

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War of the Worlds (2005)

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Reviews Counted:240

Fresh:176

Rotten:64

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: War of the Worlds delivers on the thrill and paranoia of H.G. Wells' classic novel.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Jun 29, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $234,141,872

Synopsis: On June 29th, 2005, Earth goes to war. From Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures comes "War of the Worlds," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring international superstar Tom Cruise. A... On June 29th, 2005, Earth goes to war. From Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures comes "War of the Worlds," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring international superstar Tom Cruise. A contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells's seminal classic, the sci-fi adventure thriller reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it. The film also stars Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, and Tim Robbins. Cruise stars as Ray Ferrier, a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) and her new husband drop off his teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down. Moments later, at an intersection near his house, Ray witnesses an extraordinary event that will change all their lives forever. A towering three-legged war machine emerges from deep beneath the earth and, before anyone can react, incinerates everything in sight. An ordinary day has suddenly become the most extraordinary event of their lifetimes - the first strike in a catastrophic alien attack on Earth. Ray scrambles to get his children away from this merciless new enemy, embarking on a journey that will take them across the ravaged countryside, where they become caught in the desperate tide of refugees fleeing from an extraterrestrial army of Tripods. But no matter where they run, there is no safety, no refuge … only Ray's unconquerable will to protect the ones he loves. Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures present an Amblin Entertainment/Cruise|Wagner Production, a Steven Spielberg film, "War of the Worlds." Directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on the novel by H. G. Wells, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. The executive producer is Paula Wagner. The film also stars Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin and Tim Robbins. This film has been rated PG-13 for Frightening Sequences of Sci-Fi Violence and Disturbing Images. Spielberg's core filmmaking team, which has collaborated with the director on numerous projects, is led by director of photography Janusz Kaminski, ASC, production designer Rick Carter, editor Michael Kahn, A.C.E., and costume designer Joanna Johnston. Music is composed by John Williams. Visual effects and animation is by Industrial Light & Magic, led by senior visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. "War of the Worlds" opens worldwide on June 29, 2005. The film's official website is: www.waroftheworlds.com -- © DreamWorks Pictures [More]

Starring: Tom Cruise, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins

Starring: Tom Cruise, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Justin Chatwin

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Josh Friedman, David Koepp
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Paula Wagner, Colin Wilson, Tom Cruise
Composer: John Williams
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 22, 2005

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Reviews for War of the Worlds

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM

Cinema Crazed

N/R

Bob Mondello

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 04:40 AM

NPR.org

N/R

Urban Cinefile Critics

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 04:40 AM

Urban Cinefile

tomato
3.5/4

Stefan Birgir Stefansson

great flick from spielberg

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2008 03:54 PM

sbs.is

splat
4/10

Brandon Fibbs

This is Spielberg at his unabashedly commercial worst %u2014 bland, unimaginative, and more interested in his bang than his brain.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 28 2008 09:00 PM

BrandonFibbs.com

tomato
3/5

Rob Gonsalves

Spielberg blows stuff up better than anyone -- he proves himself the maestro of that by-now-degraded game.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 23 2007 08:53 PM

eFilmCritic.com

splat
2/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 04:17 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

tomato
4/4

Kam Williams

Spielberg flips the E.T. script with this sci-fi flick which reverts to the pulp fiction notion of aliens as the enemies of earthlings.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 27 2007 07:51 PM

Princeton Town Topics

splat

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Spielberg's calculations turn out to be more prominent than any effects they could possibly produce, and the less pretentious 1953 version by producer George Pal emerges as more likable.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 08 2007 05:15 PM

Chicago Reader

tomato

Kevin Lally

Reconfirms Spielberg as a master of action, here seamlessly integrating spectacular visual magic into the most mundane and familiar settings.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 26 2007 07:44 AM

Film Journal International

tomato
3/4

Peter T. Chattaway

Like disasters in real life, the film hits you in the gut with a vision of catastrophe, and leaves you to sort out what it all means.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 17 2006 09:03 AM

Christianity Today

tomato
3/4

Garth Franklin

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 30 2006 03:17 AM

Dark Horizons

tomato
5/10

Mark R. Leeper

The film is dark and bleak with little real sense of wonder--the thing that should be Spielberg's forte.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 29 2006 03:16 AM

rec.arts.movies.reviews

tomato
3/4

Jay Antani

so impressive in so many ways that it makes the frustration over its miserable final moments that much harder to bear

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Oct., 14 2006 03:10 PM

Perihelion Journal

tomato
3.5/5

Joseph Proimakis

click to read review [Greek]

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 10 2006 04:21 PM

Movies for the Masses

tomato

Jessica Winter

The film succeeds as pure sensation, an exacting distillation of fear.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 24 2006 03:46 AM

Time Out

tomato

Ken Tucker

Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds is huge and scary, moving and funny—another capper to a career that seems like an unending succession of captivations.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 12 2006 03:15 AM

New York Magazine

tomato
3.5/5

Pete Vonder Haar

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:53 PM

Film Threat

N/R

Scott A. Mantz

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:53 PM

Entertainment Insiders

tomato
3.5/4

Jorge Avila Andrade

No es la gran película de la década, pero sí es un claro ejemplo de entretenimiento del más alto nivel que te mantendrá, literalmente, en el filo de la butaca.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 27 2005 09:01 PM

Moviola

 
 
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