Cover art for Puneri Pages’ in-depth contrarian review of War of the Worlds, blending Spielberg’s iconic imagery with a sharp critical headline.
By Prashant for PuneriPages.in
Let me start with this: the first two acts of Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds are stunning. The moment that first Tripod bursts out of the ground is pure cinema adrenaline. The ferry attack scene? Goosebumps. The sense of panic and claustrophobia Spielberg creates is unmatched. For about an hour, you’re watching one of the most gripping disaster films of our generation.
And then… the bottom falls out.
For all its visual brilliance, War of the Worlds is built on a script so hollow that no amount of technical wizardry can save it. It’s like constructing a gorgeous, high-tech spaceship—and then discovering it has no engine.
Table of Contents
The Ray Ferrier Problem
Tom Cruise’s Ray Ferrier isn’t a protagonist; he’s a witness. Things happen to him, but he rarely drives the story forward. His character arc—from “bad dad” to “slightly less bad dad”—is barely a blip. There’s no real transformation, no moment where his choices change the outcome. He just survives by being in the right place at the right time.
Robbie: The Walking Plot Device
Ray’s son Robbie is even worse. His reckless obsession with running toward the alien destruction has no logic except to create artificial conflict. His motivations are so implausible that they snap the fragile thread of realism Spielberg spends so much effort weaving.
The Third-Act Implosion
Then comes the Tim Robbins basement detour, where the story slams the brakes. It’s claustrophobic in the wrong way—not tense, just tedious. And when the aliens die, it’s not because of anything our characters did. The germs kill them. The humans? Irrelevant. That’s not an ending—it’s an erasure of everything that came before.
The Hollow 9/11 Allegory
Yes, the film’s imagery echoes 9/11. But an allegory without a point is just set dressing. Unlike Jaws, Jurassic Park, or E.T., there’s no catharsis here, no human triumph, no thematic takeaway. It’s a cold echo of trauma without any resolution.
Why It Hurts More Coming from Spielberg
Spielberg is capable of balancing spectacle with heart like no one else. That’s why War of the Worlds stings. It’s a showcase of unmatched technical skill serving a story that simply isn’t there. The result is a movie that’s both unforgettable for its visuals and unforgettable for how badly it squanders them.
And that’s why, in my book, it’s one of the worst movies of the decade—not because it’s a total disaster, but because it came so close to greatness and fell so spectacularly short.
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