An Amazon Prime remake of the classic sci-fi War of the Worlds has managed to get the lowest-possible score on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it has been universally panned

Ice Cube stars in a new version of War of the Worlds, but it has been panned by critics and viewers(Image: Prime Video)

An Amazon Prime remake of a classic sci-fi film has earned the lowest-possible score on Rotten Tomatoes. The streaming platform’s new version of War of the World stars Ice Cube and Eva Longoria, but even having two massive names attached to it did not help things when it came to impressing fans of the original.

On the review-aggregation website, which attracts nearly 80 million film and TV fans on a monthly basis, not one of the 13 reviews is positive and it has therefore been left with a rating of 0%. User ExxtraZY wrote: “I am traumatised. Not because of how graphic it is, but how awful it is. It feels like a 10 year old had a fever dream and decided to write the story at the top of their head.”

Another reviewer said: “The butchered one of the greatest sci-fi stories mankind has ever told. Just horrible. Bad writing,” and another fumed: “This movie could either be considered a glorified Amazon Ad or a really, really, really bad movie.” It comes after one Mirror writer claimed ‘the new Bonnie Blue documentary may be the worst thing I’ve ever seen on Channel 4’.

The film is the latest in a long line of adaptations based on the HG Wells classic(Image: Prime Video)

A fourth reviewer said: “Stayed 20 minutes longer than I should have because of Ice Cube. But even he couldn’t save this disaster of an adaptation,” whilst one social media user took to X to write: “This new War of the Worlds movie might be the worst movie I have seen in years.” Despite this, some fans who had watched the movie felt that they could defend it.

One wrote: “I felt the story was strong enough to suspend belief. I didn’t care too much about the special effects, I cared about are the kids going to be OK and how this story is different from the many other renditions I have seen,” and another said: “Ok so I am gonna buck the system here. I truly enjoyed WAR OF THE WORLDS. I thought Ice Cube was great – loved the entire cast. Eva Longoria – great. Loved the kids. What is the problem here??”

One irate viewer took to X to vent: “War of the Worlds (2025) is the worst adaption of the source material to date. It had no ideas beyond the found footage approach, and even then the film is struggling to find ways to present coherent scenes.

“Ice Cube is so lost. Maybe one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Most of the film just doesn’t make sense because they’re trying to rush through a mountain of developments.

The latest version of War of the Worlds, which focuses on an attempted alien invasion, was released last week on the streaming service. But the original novel by HG Wells was published in 1898, and the story has been adapted for the screen multiple times.

After first being broadcast on the radio in the late 1930s, three film adaptations were releases from 1953 and 1981. In 2005, Tom Cruise starred alongside a young Dakota Fanning in a modern remake of the Victorian classic.

There is also Jeff Wayne’s musical adaptation, which has toured the country regularly for nearly two decades and has recently featured the likes of Jason Donovan, Steps star Claire Richards, former EastEnders actress Maisie Smith and The Wanted’s Max George stepping into its main roles over the years.

The synopsis for the latest incarnation of the story reads: “‘A gargantuan invasion is coming with this fresh take on the legendary novel of the same name. Renowned actress Eva Longoria is joined by iconic rapper and actor Ice Cube, along with Michael O’Neill and Iman Benson, for a thrilling out-of-this-world adventure that is filled with present-day themes of technology, surveillance, and privacy.”