Prime Video subscribers are declaring that a fresh science fiction thriller based on one of literature’s most celebrated novels could rank among the worst films ever produced.
The streaming service has enjoyed considerable triumph with its new and returning offerings this year, from adrenaline-fuelled pictures G20 and Heads of State to popular series We Were Liars and the comeback of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Regrettably, their most recent launch has entirely escaped most viewers’ notice this week.
Its absence of attention appears justified however, as War of the Worlds, featuring Ice Cube in the starring role, has been comprehensively slated by critics and audiences alike.
The reinterpretation of HG Wells’ groundbreaking alien invasion tale earned a devastating 0 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, performing scarcely better with viewers, who granted it just 11 percent, reports the Mirror.
This iteration of the beloved sci-fi masterpiece casts the renowned rapper as a cyber-security specialist for Homeland Security and draws influence from contemporary ‘screenlife’ productions, which unfold entirely on computer and mobile phone displays.
Nevertheless, this innovative approach to a cherished novel has attracted substantial criticism from those unfortunate enough to watch this weekend.
One Reddit user maintains the picture is “on another level of bad”.
To which someone responded: “I honestly think this may be one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen.
“Sure there are plenty of movies that fail in every possible way and end up a nonsensical mess.
“But even those have a certain charm and a certain level of effort behind them. This movie is the absolute laziest movie I’ve ever seen, and it’s so blatant about it.”
Another user delivered a scathing assessment: “A friend of mine, who likes just about everything, even new Marvel c***, hated this movie. It must be REALLY bad if that man was struggling to find anything positive to say about it at all.”
Elsewhere on another thread, one viewer suggested War of the Worlds could be the “worst movie of all time”.
“How they let this movie come out is beyond me,” they despaired.
“Have to assume Eva Longoria and Ice Cube must have got PAIDDDD to be in this AI junk. Didn’t think we could see worse than the weekend’s movie but here it is!”
“One of the most atrocious movies I’ve ever seen,” someone else observed.
Meanwhile, a Letterboxd reviewer awarded it a withering half a star, proclaiming: “Not a fan of being hyperbolic but arguably one of the worse movies to be released/distributed by a major platform in the last 5 years.”
Does War of the Worlds fall into the so-bad-it’s-good category or is it simply dreadful on every conceivable level?
And will anyone be bold enough to endure the entire film to discover the answer?
War of the Worlds is available to stream on Prime Video.