War of the Worlds [SteelBook] [Includes Digital Copy] [4K Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray] [2005]

Good movie! Glad it made the jump to being released in 4K.

Great movie! Great home theater sound and special effects. Thank you Best Buy for the great price!

Great movie and very entertaining. Looks awesome and very nice looking SteelBook.

What Spielberg, Cruise, and Koepp accomplish here in the first two acts is nothing short of revolutionary. They've made a big-budget summer blockbuster about massive destruction and action that manages to studiously avoid every cliché and expectation of such films. It stays resolutely on the characters' points of view, showing us almost nothing they don't see, even to the point of coming tantalizingly close to a raging battle, then avoiding showing it. It keeps its focus on character instead of spectacle. The "hero" of the piece remains decidedly unheroic, wanting only to escape, and trying to talk others out of fighting back. The purpose of every piece of action is to frighten and disturb rather than thrill, making ingenious use of familiar 9/11 imagery. At the end of the second act, it is hands-down the best alien invasion film ever made, and perhaps one of the best sci-films of all time. Then something strange happens. The filmmakers lose their nerve, and remember that this is an extremely expensive summer film financed by two studios. Or perhaps it was the fact that it stars Tom Cruise, who up to this point has spent almost two hours doing nothing but run for his life. Suddenly, and tragically, the film changes, violating not only its carefully established tone, but its own internal logic. Suddenly, Cruise begins to act like a hero, and summer action clichés force their way into the story like a worm into an apple. The transition is jarring, and it creates a serious disconnect from the story. While it's true that Wells' original ending creates a problem for a movie, here they try to remain faithful to it, while still shoehorning moments of triumph into the conclusion. Unfortunately, these moments come off as alternately false, unbelievable, and meaningless, since it isn't mankind that defeats the invaders in the end. Is it recommendable? Well, I suppose that depends on what kind of viewer you are. If you feel that 75% brilliant material overshadows the 25% that falls apart, then you'll enjoy it. If, however, you're the kind of viewer who feels that the final impression a movie makes is its ultimate stamp on your memory, you may be in for a crushing disappointment. On the other hand, if you're the kind of viewer who just likes the cliché of the boom-boom summer action spectacle, you're likely to be bored and frustrated with the first two acts, and only engage in the end. It is confused about what audience it's trying to reach, and consequently, isn't likely to satisfy any of them.

Another Everyman Tom Cruise movie with some good special effects and CGI. The sense of family fills this film with more jeopardy and sustained suspense than usual, and a few scenes can be genuinely upsetting; so, not particularly good for young or impressionable children. PG-13

Excellent and phenomenal native 4K disc! Compared to the standard blu-ray disc that is also included in this combo pack (the same blu-ray that was released previously in 2010), the color depth is greatly improved and Dolby Vision elevates it even further. Black levels are excellent and improves on depth without sacrificing fine object detail. The 4K disc also comes loaded with different subtitles option: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai There are no special features/extras on the 4K disc itself, but are provided on the standard blu-ray disc, which includes: -Revisiting the Invasion (7:39) -The H.G. Wells Legacy (6:34) -Steven Spielberg and the Original "War of the Worlds" (8:00) -Characters: The Family Unit (13:22) -Previsualization (7:42) -Production Diaries (4 parts): 1. East Coast - Beginning (22:30) 2. East Coast - Exile (19:39) 3. West Coast - Destruction (27:29) 4. West Coast - War (22:20) -Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens (14:07) -Scoring 'War of the Worlds' (11:57) -We Are Not Alone (3:14) -Four still galleries: 1. Sketches by Costume Designer Joanna Johnston 2. Production Stills 3. Behind the Scenes 4. Production Sketches -War of the Worlds trailer (1:59) If you're a fan of this film and already own the blu-ray disc, I still highly recommend upgrading to 4K!

This review is for the 4K Steelbook version of War of the Worlds. I won't review the actual movie, except to say that since I purchased it, it must be pretty entertaining, which it is. Instead, I will focus on the product itself. I have ordered many steelbooks from Best Buy and have always had positive experiences, both with the actual item as well as Best Buy's ordering process. This time was no different. The steelbook arrived as scheduled and the packaging was undamaged. The steelbook itself was undented, with no scratches or scuffs. Being a collector of steelbooks, this is very important to me. Also, the artwork on both the outer cover of the steelbook as well as the inside of the case is really cool. As for the 4K transfer of the film, aside from a few scenes of natural graininess, this is a very crisp and vibrant transfer. Definitely a step up from the regular bluray version. I would highly recommend this 4K version of War of the Worlds.

This is a great movie to have on 4K. Sadly, I got a defective disc, these things happen sometimes. But, when it played the 4K and Dolby Atmos were spectacular. Hoping to get another disc soon because I love this movie.