Timur Bekmambetov Defends ‘War of the Worlds’ After Razzies Triumph: “I’ll Take Three Weeks at #1 on Prime Over a Good Review Any Day”

Timur Bekmambetov, the filmmaker behind this year’s Chris Pratt-starring “Mercy,” used a Reddit AMA promoting his new producer credit on “LifeHack” to address questions about last year’s “War of the Worlds.” The Ice Cube-led Prime Video adaptation of H.G. Wells’ story was widely panned by critics, sitting at just 4% on Rotten Tomatoes and picking up five Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture.

Despite that reception, Bekmambetov was candid rather than defensive about the film’s performance. Responding to a commenter, he wrote, “The criticism of War of the Worlds didn’t surprise me. I’ll take three weeks at number one at Amazon Prime over a good review any day. Always have.”

So, Bekmambetov prefers streaming success and audience reach over critical approval — that makes sense. After all, the Kazakh-born filmmaker had already perpetrated on us “Ben-Hur,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” “V2: Escape From Hell,” and “Mercy.” Might as well admit reviews don’t concern you.

Starring Ice Cube as a cybersecurity analyst, “War of the Worlds” “won” five of the six categories for which it was nominated, including Worst Actor (Cube), Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay (Kenny Golde and Marc Hyman). Rich Lee also took the award for Worst Director — despite Cube saying that his director wasn’t even on set during filming.

In fact, the film was actually shot in 2020, during the pandemic, and remained in post production hell for five years before finally being unless on streaming in July 2025.

A baffling modern reimagining, the film follows Cube’s analyst as he realizes the real danger may be internal rather than extraterrestrial. As a Prime Video release, it leans heavily on Amazon imagery — delivery trucks, drones, checkout screens, even a $1,000 gift card offered to a homeless man — making it feel more like an ad than a movie.

Shot in just two weeks during COVID with the director nowhere in sight, it comes across as rushed and disjointed. A disasterpiece that will no doubt be studied—for all the wrong reasons—in the years to come.