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After giving the world the iconic sci-fi movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in the ‘80s and solidifying his status as a titan of the genre in the ‘90s with Jurassic Park, Spielberg delivered his most divisive movie yet with War of the Worlds. The 2005 sci-fi action thriller, an adaptation of H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel, centers around an estranged, blue-collar father who must fight to protect his children and reunite them with their mother when extraterrestrials invade Earth. Spielberg fans and sci-fi lovers can now stream the movie completely free after it joined Tubi’s content catalog on January 1st.
Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds Divided Critics and Audiences
With numerous Academy Awards nominations and a massive $603 million worldwide gross that made it the fourth-most successful film of 2005, War of the Worlds was a major success, but it also logged Spielberg his most divisive movie yet. The movie was well-received by critics who lauded its post-9/11 allegory and direction, intense, terrifying atmosphere, and character-driven story, ultimately earning it a “Certified Fresh” Tomatometer score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. But the much more lukewarm 42% Popcornmeter rating from audiences who disliked some of the characters and what they viewed as an anticlimactic and tonally out-of-place ending made War of the Worlds one of the most divisive sci-fi movies of the 21st century.
