Why you can trust GamesRadar+
No one would have believed that Jeff Wayne’s musical treatment of H.G. Wells’ novel would still be active 35 years after his album’s debut.
The prog-rock stays rooted in the 1970s, something the stage show’s CGI and pyrotechnics do little to counter. With Richard Burton indisposed it is left to Liam Neeson’s hologram to narrate the Martian invasion while Marti Pellow and Jason Donovan perform ‘live’.
The result is bloated, over-extended and epically portentous, yet not without moments of gob-smacking majesty.
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered.
Neil Smith is a freelance film critic and writer who contributes regularly to Heat, SFX and Screen International. He's a long-time member of the London Film Critics’ Circle and was a contributing editor at Total Film for many years.