12 Most Underrated Sci-Fi Movie Remakes Ever

This is a funny one, as critics weren’t actively unkind to Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds when it was first released in 2005—if anything, they were generous enough to overlook some pretty glaring plot holes when complimenting the flick’s propulsive action and surprisingly serious tone. Nonetheless, in the years since the flick has been written off as one of the Jaws helmer’s lesser offerings, and whilst it’s not perfect it is well worth revisiting with some historical context in mind.

Like the 1953 original, Spielberg’s film updates the action of the novel to the present, and in doing so produces one of the first “city under siege from faceless foes” blockbusters to be released in post 9/11 America. The film focuses less on the alien invaders and the military personnel fighting them and more on a single family, reducing the terror to a domestic sphere and reflecting the international fear of mass attacks effecting civilians curing the so-called War on Terror. It’s an effective and unsettling portal back to the paranoia of post-9/11 America, and for that alone the film is worth checking out.