The effects are, well, OK. And “casting against type” is usually a great way to grab our attention by parking an actor in a role we’d never picture them in.

So, Ice Cube as a cyber-security mastermind and highly-placed government threat assessment expert? OK. Let’s see that full repertoire of slack-jawed scowls, this time wearing glasses.

A remake of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” for the social media/”data is king” age, one without invaders from Mars? Fine.

But “War of the Worlds” is bad, almost laugh-out-loud bad, and that “almost” is the killer here.

It’s a Universal product, a screen-centric “screenlife” thriller (“Searching,” “Unfriended”) mashup of “War of the Worlds” with “Independence Day” that plays out in a series of online searches, Zoom calls, Facetimes, security hacks and “drone commandeerings” as ordinary folks and the president and assorted higher ups try to foil an alien invasion.

Ice Cube plays William Radford, the multi-tasking cyber-expert with direct ties to the NSA chief (Clark Gregg), the Secretary of Defense (Michael O’Neill) and even, when the chips are down, the president (Jim Meskimen) himself.

Will’s workday features renewed efforts to help the FBI track down a hacker with the handle “Disturber,” who is warning one and all about Big Data and government’s efforts to mine it all with a new program called Goliath.

But Will’s also got time to micromanage biologist daughter Faith’s (Iman Benson) diet. She’s pregnant with Amazon delivery-doofus Mark’s (Devon Bostick) baby. Yeah, he can monitor what’s in her fridge, her heartrate, the works, via her phones and “devices.”

“You need more PROTEIN.”

He’s riding herd on his gamer son Dave (Henry Hunter Hall), who dislikes having a dad who makes his living “spying on what’s in people’s Amazon Carts.”

Who has time for NASA pal Sandra (Eva Longoria) whining about out of the ordinary, out of control weather events and satellites that are “down?” That “I GOT yo’ass now” raid to catch Disturber goes wrong, and Ms. FBI agent (Andrea Savage) is um, perplexed.

And then meteors rain from the sky endangering the (adult) kids, the public and human civilization itself.

Guess who gets to use the phrase “I GOT this?”

The effects, as I mentioned, aren’t bad.

But the plot is “ID4” derivative and stupid about it.

The performances, crammed into frames within frames on the screens, are rarely shy of over-the-top. One marvels at how special effects tech turned music video director Rich Lee (Lana Del Rey, Eminem, Black-eyed Peas ) squeezed so much awful into 91 minutes.

And at some point, with all the overt Fox News updates and endless Amazon, Joe Rogan and Tesla plugs, we wonder if the script’s warnings of “authoritarian control” of our data isn’t misdirecting us about aliens or even DOGE, which could have financed this “Let’s unite behind our leaders and SAVE the planet” propaganda.

Because if anybody thinks this movie exists just to give Ice Cube a comeback thriller, have I got a Prime Membership offer for you!

Rating: R, violence, profanity

Cast: Ice Cube, Evan Longoria, Iman Benson, Clark Gregg, Henry Hunter Hall and Devon Bostick

Credits: Directed by Rich Lee, scripted by Kenny Golde and Harm Hyman, based on the novel by H.G. Wells. A Universal Picture premiering on Amazon Prime.

Running time: 1:31