Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds Is A Streaming Success (For Some Reason)

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Summary

  • Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds is the #1 movie on Prime Video.
  • The movie lacks tension and mystery, serving as a long Amazon commercial.
  • It remains a mystery if viewers enjoy the film or watch out of curiosity.

The classic novel “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells has inspired numerous film and television interpretations. Notable among these are Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film featuring Tom Cruise, as well as the initial adaptation from 1953 under the direction of Byron Haskin. Additionally, Orson Welles’ radio play version of the story is famous for its intense and believable portrayal, causing some listeners to become genuinely alarmed.

In the most recent adaptation of “War of the Worlds,” airing on Amazon Prime and featuring Ice Cube, it seems unexpected. This contemporary reimagining of the story, similar to films like “Searching” and “Missing,” has been heavily criticized by critics (those who took the time to review it). However, despite the negative reviews, it has managed to reach a notable streaming achievement.

Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds is the #1 Movie On Prime Video

For some reason, a lot of people are watching this thing

Beginning August 1st, “War of the Worlds” has climbed to the top position on Prime’s US and global streaming rankings, as reported by FlixPatrol. It surpassed “Heads of State,” starring John Cena and Idris Elba, and currently sits second only to “The Summer I Turned Pretty” across the entire service. Remarkably, “War of the Worlds” seized the number one spot on its premiere day, even outpacing the extremely popular “Wicked.

It’s unclear if viewers are truly enjoying the movie “War of the Worlds,” or if they’re merely intrigued by its mysterious premise, as it was released with minimal promotion and has not been screened for critics, leaving it without a significant number of reviews. Consequently, it hasn’t earned an official Rotten Tomatoes score yet. Based on the few reviews that have been published, it seems unlikely to be deemed ‘fresh’ anytime soon. In many ways, this new version of “War of the Worlds” mirrors its more successful suspenseful film counterparts, with brief glimpses of alien invasion alternating with Ice Cube’s character spending time alone in an office. However, it pales in comparison to the carefully constructed chaos and peril found in Spielberg’s version.

The movie “War of the Worlds” incorporates its own company, Amazon, into its storyline in a way that feels overly promotional and comical, much like how Google and Facebook use search and missing plots to enhance realism in their narratives (such as in “Searching” and “Missing”). As noted by Peter Debruge of Variety, watching this Amazon movie requires sitting through two minutes of advertisements for every 90 minutes of content, making it feel more like a long commercial than a film.

Unlike “Searching” and “Missing,” which create suspenseful stories first before integrating those elements into their format, “War of the Worlds” seems to struggle with adapting H.G. Wells’s alien invasion narrative for the screen thriller genre. Despite attracting viewers, it remains uncertain whether the movie can maintain its popularity as more people watch and word-of-mouth spreads. Hopefully, it might gain the cult status of being so bad that it’s good, but remember to have an Amazon account before you start watching!

War of the Worlds is now streaming on Prime Video.

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2025-08-01 19:13