History YMMV / WarOfTheWorlds2005

* HarsherInHindsight: UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} is depicted as being one of the first countries attacked, going by the news report about them being plunged into blackout by a massive lightning storm seen before the attack on New Jersey.

* HarsherInHindsight: UsefulNotes/Ukraine is depicted as being one of the first countries attacked, going by the news report about them being plunged into blackout by a massive lightning storm seen before the attack on New Jersey.

** How Manny was able to get the Plymouth Voyager running again so quickly after the EMP fries its electrical system, as ArtisticLicenseCars on the main page describes in detail.

* AssPull: For many critics and viewers, Robbie's unexplained survival falls under this, as the hill he was on seemed to get obliterated.

%%* AssPull: For many critics and viewers, Robbie's unexplained survival falls squarely under this. Context?

* AngstWhatAngst: Ray and Rachel don't seem too disturbed by [[spoiler: Ogilvy's death]], as they're sleeping peacefully in the very next scene, and they don't even mention him for the rest of the film.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Rachel shows signs of an anxiety disorder or possibly being on the autism spectrum. When there's no danger present, she seems overly serious and mature, seems very smart and obsessed with certain topics, and her tone of voice can be flat. She is also very anxious, has panic attacks when stressed, relies on a calming routine when upset, and seems overly reliant on others to do things for her. It's also stated that she has claustrophobia.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Rachel shows signs of an anxiety disorder or possibly being on the autism spectrum. When there's no danger present, she seems overly serious and mature, and her tone of voice can be flat. She is also very anxious and fearful, and has panic attacks when stressed. It's also stated that she has claustrophobia.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Rachel shows signs of an anxiety disorder or possibly being on the autism spectrum. When there's no danger present, she seems overly serious and mature, and her tone of voice can be flat. She is also very anxious and needy, and has panic attacks when stressed. It's also stated that she has claustrophobia.

** Ogilvy crosses this with the reveal that he offered Ray and Rachel [[WouldHurtAChild (a 10-year old girl)]] shelter in order to drag them into his fight with the aliens. For good measure, he spends his final moments stating that the aliens can take them for all he cares.

** Ogilvy crosses this in Ray's eyes when he not only puts him and his daughter at risk of being killed by the aliens, but assaults Ray for trying to reason with him and then wishes death on him and Rachel [[WouldHurtAChild (a 10-year old girl)]], [[spoiler: which convinces Ray that he has to kill him]].

** A number of viewers differ over whether Ray's [[spoiler: murder of Ogilvy]] was justified or not. The filmmakers stated this was meant to be ambiguous, and the viewer could come to their own conclusions.

** Another standout is the whole basement sequence trying to hide from the aliens, which many compare it to being something straight out of a StealthBasedGame. [[spoiler: Ray murdering Ogilvy while Rachel sings her lullaby]] is also considered one of the most chilling moments.

** Another standout is the whole basement sequence trying to hide from the aliens, which many compare it to being something straight out of a StealthBasedGame.

** Rachel is also subject to this. Viewers tend to see her as either [[TheLoad annoying]] or [[TheWoobie sympathetic]], and base their interpretation of her behavior on where they fall. On the one hand, some perceive her as overly coddled by her mother and stepfather, leading her to take actions inappropriate for her age and overall maturity that put both herself and others in danger. On the other, she ''is'' a ten-year-old, [[AmbiguousDisorder appears to have issues with anxiety and panic]], and generally manages to stay quiet in all but one instance where making noise would draw unwanted attention. Some viewers who are more sympathetic interpret her behavior in that scene [[spoiler:where she screams while a Tripod has her father pinned in an overturned truck]] as either a reaction to believing that [[spoiler:the only person left to protect her has died]] or even an intentional ([[DidNotThinkThisThrough if poorly planned out]]) attempt at distraction.

* JerkassWoobie: Ogilvy's not a nice person and becomes antagonistic toward Ray, but he's a man who's just lost his entire family, combined with watching the world get taken over by aliens. Then when he sees the aliens harvesting humans, [[spoiler: he loses his mind completely and Ray is forced to kill him]].

* JerkassWoobie: Ogilvy starts out as this. He's not a nice person and becomes antagonistic toward Ray, but he's a man who's just lost his entire family, combined with watching the world get taken over by aliens.

* {{Narm}}:
** The flaming train scene is so unexpected that it's either this or outright terrifying.
** Rachel's screaming can be this, thanks to it going through MemeticMutation.

* AssPull: For many critics and viewers, Robbie's unexplained survival falls squarely under this.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/JohnWilliams delivers as usual.

** Was Ray's [[spoiler: murder of Ogilvy justified]], or was he acting irrationally out of fear for his daughter's life? The filmmakers stated this was meant to be ambiguous, and the viewer could come to their own conclusions.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The effects were up for an Academy Award, given how successfully the film depicts an alien invasion both realistic and horrifying.

* RootingForTheEmpire: As terrifying as the tripods were, they have a definite coolness factor, and several viewers rooted for them after finding the humans annoying.

* RootingForTheEmpire: As terrifying as the tripods were, let's face it: Several viewers rooted for them after finding the humans annoying.

* JerkassWoobie: Ogilvy starts out as this. He's not a nice person, but he's a man who's just lost his entire family, combined with watching the world get taken over by aliens. He loses this status as he becomes more antagonistic toward Ray, to the point of actively wishing death on him and Rachel.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Rachel shows signs of an anxiety disorder or possibly being on the autism spectrum. When there's no danger present, she seems overly serious and mature, speaks in a rather emotionless voice, is very anxious and needy, and has panic attacks when stressed. It's also stated that she has claustrophobia.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Rachel shows signs of an anxiety disorder or possibly being on the autism spectrum. When there's no danger present, she seems overly serious and mature, and speaks in a rather emotionless voice, but becomes very anxious and needy when stressed. It's also stated that she has claustrophobia.