A ‘masterpiece’ film, nominated for three Oscars and starring  Tom Cruise, is leaving Netflix soon. War of the Worlds is a 2005 American science fiction action-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on H. G. Wells’ 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds.

Tom Cruise stars in the main role alongside Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin, with narration by Morgan Freeman. It follows an American dock worker who must look after his estranged children as he struggles to protect and reunite them with their mother when extraterrestrials invade Earth and devastate cities with giant war machines. Spielberg chose The War of the Worlds from a number of pitches by Cruise and stated, “We looked at each other, and the lights went on. As soon as I heard it, I said ‘Oh my God! War of the Worlds – absolutely.’ That was it.” Many reviewers felt that the film tried to recreate the atmosphere of the September 11 attacks, with bystanders struggling to survive and the usage of missing-persons displays.

Spielberg declared to Reader’s Digest that beside the work being a fantasy, the threat represented was real: “They are a wake-up call to face our fears as we confront a force intent on destroying our way of life.”

It earned Academy Awards nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

It was also a commercial success, grossing over $603 million worldwide against a $132 million production budget, making it the fourth-most successful film of 2005.

On Independence Day weekend, it grossed $64.9 million, an average of $16,601, and gave Tom Cruise his biggest opening weekend, replacing Mission: Impossible 2. This record would last until the release of Top Gun: Maverick in May 2022.

On Rotten Tomatoes, War of the Worlds holds an approval rating of 76% based on 265 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10. The site’s critical consensus states: “Steven Spielberg‘s adaptation of War of the Worlds delivers on the thrill and paranoia of H.G. Wells’ classic novel while impressively updating the action and effects for modern audiences.”

Review aggregator website Metacritic gave the film an average score of 73 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews”. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale.

Total Film’s review gave War of the Worlds four out of five stars, considering that “Spielberg finds fresh juice in a tale already adapted for film, TV, stage, radio and record”, and describing the film as having many “startling images”, comparing the first Tripod attack to the Omaha Beach landing from Saving Private Ryan.

It has been described by viewers on Reddit as a “cinematic masterpiece” and a “truly great film”, with “awe-inspiring visuals” and “perfect pacing”.

War of the Worlds is leaving Netflix on January 31, according to NewOnNetflix.