Critic Reviews
War of the Worlds (2005) Rank 4 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (466) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Reviews by Score:
Zertinet Movies (Steven Snyder)
FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
This is Spielberg's finest hour since 1998's Saving Private Ryan . ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at FromTheBalcony (Bill Clark)
eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
A disturbing account of Earth being thrown into the fan from a master filmmaker ready to take the darkness of our existence to places we may not be ready to confront. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
It may be no coincidence the president's poll numbers and the movie industry's ticket sales are both in a slump: Doom-and-gloom scenarios are playing out offscreen and on... ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
New York Magazine (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. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at New York Magazine (Ken Tucker)
San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
It is, simply, the alienation-invasion movie to beat all alien-invasion movies: meticulously detailed and expertly paced and photographed, with sights so spectacular and terrible that viewers will have to consciously remind themselves to close their ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Contains all of the hallmarks of classic genre Spielberg: It shows you things you've never seen before, instills an accompanying sense of awestruck wonder, and delivers long stretches of heightened, delirious excitement that remind you why people started ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Working in the spirit of his predecessors but with the kind of uncanny special effects they could barely dream of, Spielberg has come up with an impressive production that is disturbing in the way only provocative science fiction can be. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Joe Critic.com (Sam Bear)
Movieman's Guide to the Movies (Kushmeer Farakhan)
Movieman's Guide to the Movies
eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)
Spielberg’s list of great movies is too long to catalog here, but rest assured: War of the Worlds now ranks among them. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)
Cinescape
No one could have believed that in the first years of the 21st century that a serious big budget alien invasion film from one of cinema's foremost craftsmen was being watched by intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, who quickly, carelessly and with ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Cinescape
Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
Steven Spielberg returns to the scary territory of Jaws and Jurassic Park and once again proves himself to be the most gifted movie entertainer of his generation. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Miami Herald (Rene Rodriguez)
WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
It makes Independence Day look like The Muppet Movie . ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
Beaumont Journal (Danny Minton)
Complete nightmare fertilizer ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Beaumont Journal (Danny Minton)
FilmFocus.Co.UK (Joe Utichi)
Entertainment Weekly
An attack-of-the-aliens disaster film crafted with sinister technological grandeur -- a true popcorn apocalypse. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Entertainment Weekly
Movieman's Guide to the Movies
San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Meticulously detailed and expertly paced and photographed, with sights so spectacular and terrible that viewers will have to consciously remind themselves to close their mouths when their jaws drop open. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Media-Assault.com (Sean Caszatt)
RopeofSilicon (Brad Brevet)
Dallas Morning News (Philip Wuntch)
Steven Spielberg's meticulous, thrilling and chilling War of the Worlds is a testimony to tension. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Dallas Morning News (Philip Wuntch)
CineMe (Daniel Meyer)
The Cinema Source (Dan Portnoy)
CineMe (Daniel Meyer)
Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)
...while his "War's" waging, Spielberg will have you by the throat. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Until its final act, the film is lean and alive, a visceral thrill ride designed to move audiences to the edge of their seats or maybe into their parents' laps. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (Nell Minow)
The images are fresh and imaginative and yet perfectly believable, mixing the normal with the inconceivable, ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (Nell Minow)
zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
It's nice to see Spielberg at the helm of a huge summer movie again. This is my favorite high profile film of the season thus far. Now bring on Indy IV damn it! ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at zBoneman Movie Reviews (Kevin Jones & Adam Mast)
RopeofSilicon (Brad Brevet)
The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
Where Spielberg is hamstrung, eventually, is by his source material. Wells' story has an anti-climactic resolution, and Spielberg has kept it. Maybe there is a trade-off between realism and entertainment. Wells' version is very logical; it's just not ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Spielberg shows that he remains the master of the form he virtually invented. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (Jack Garner)
Variety (Todd McCarthy)
A gritty, intense and supremely accomplished sci-fier. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Slate (David Edelstein)
It's the human struggle that makes this a sci-fi masterpiece. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Slate (David Edelstein)
Supercala.com (Paul Salfen)
There's plenty of blood, most of the cast of thousands die, and some of the images are just plain disturbing...I loved it. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Supercala.com (Paul Salfen)
Supercala.com (John Venable)
...inspires the same jaw-dropping awe as Jurassic Park and Close Encounters both did with the same mix of fantasy, horror, and the regular guy. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Supercala.com (John Venable)
CHUD (Devin Faraci)
War of the Worlds is, hands down, the best big budget film of the summer. Maybe the year. Spielberg has crafted a real classic. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)
JoeCritic.com (Sam Bear)
Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Rivets and amazes, even if it falls just frustratingly short of the mind-expanding grandeur it could have had. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Empire Magazine [UK]
About.com Hollywood Movies (Rebecca Murray)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
If Jurassic Park was Jaws with claws, War of the World is E.T. gone bad, a big, noisy, scary sci-fi with dazzling technology that overwhelms the simplistic story and personae ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Bob Longino)
When it's in full throttle, there's not been and probably won't be a better action movie out there this summer. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Bob Longino)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
MovieWeb (J.P. Mangalindan)
Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)
Good-naturedly bludgeons its audience with old-fashioned alien-invasion hysteria. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)
Looking Closer (Jeffrey Overstreet)
... like watching 100 minutes of the actual apocalypse and then switching to the climax of a sappy TV movie about parenting. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Looking Closer (Jeffrey Overstreet)
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Matt Noller
How they manage to get as far as they do has something to do as well with how the film gradually exudes a charming, even gentle, hold on your attention -- both King (played by Leo Bill) and Cuthbertson (Kenneth Cranham) aren't violent men by nature, ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Matt Noller
Now Playing Magazine (Scott Collura)
Some of the director’s finest thriller-style work in years. ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Now Playing Magazine (Scott Collura)
The King's Room (Paul Perkins)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Future Movies (Paul Greenwood)
Movie Gazette (Anton Bitel)
Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)
Bigfanboy (Mark Walters)
The movie opens by showing us a dock worker named Ray Ferrier (Cruise). He leaves work in a hurry to meet with his ex-wife Mary Ann (Miranda Otto), now remarried, and dropping off their two kids for the weekend. Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie ...read the complete War of the Worlds movie review at Bigfanboy (Mark Walters)
d+kaz. Intelligent Movie Reviews (Daniel Kasman)
ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Empire Magazine [UK]
JoBlo's Movie Emporium ("JoBlo")
UpcomingDiscs.com (Brendan Surpless)
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