War of the Worlds: The True Story: Film Review

Timothy Hines' faux documentary is inspired by both H.G. Wells' classic sci-fi novel and Orson Welles' legendary 1938 radio broadcast.

Director Timothy Hines has gone back to the Wells for War of the Worlds: The True Story, his second attempt at dramatizing the classic science fiction novel by H.G. Wells. Unlike his apparently awful three-hour 2005 direct-to-video effort, this version -- inspired by Orson Welles’ legendary 1938 radio broadcast that panicked the nation -- takes a conceptually adventurous approach to the material. But despite the undeniable technical proficiency on display, it yields diminishing returns.