If you ever wondered what a cozy action movie would feel like with an IT professional in the lead role, War of the Worlds is it. Ice Cube plays a tech whiz turned hero, and while he nails the stoic survivor vibe, I wished for just a tad more emotional range to anchor the human stakes. The story had its pacing dips—certain plot points could’ve used more screen time to breathe—and some supporting actors pop in and out without much reaction, especially when that pivotal team is revealed. You’ll know exactly what I mean when you see it.
Despite those hiccups, I found myself glued to my screen more than not, almost as if I were commanding operations from my own office. There’s a sense that extra layers—scenes left on the cutting-room floor—could have fleshed this out into a gripping limited series, giving us deeper backstory and character arcs but it was better this way.
And yes, there’s one showdown between Radford and Briggs that never quite materializes on screen—but if it had, it might’ve delivered the knockout punch we were all waiting for. All things considered, I’d land this at a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. It felt like this was filmed during the pandemic, and Ice Cube confirmed it:
This explains production, the careful distancing and lean ensemble. Kudos to the team for adapting under challenging conditions. War of the Worlds is available now.
