Movie review: "The 5th Wave"

Release date: January22nd, 2016 (the Netherlands: January 28th, 2016)
Lang uage: English
Director: J. Blakeson
Based on: The 5th Wave written by Rick Yancey
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Alex Roe, Zackary Arthur, Maggie Siff and Ron Livingstone.
IMDB rating: 5,7
Rating: (3.5 / 5)

The world is coming to a violent end… what’s new? You might say: another YA adaptation about an apocalypse and two teens falling in love against all odds. But “The 5th Wave” is much more. A movie about hope, what it means to be human and above all trusting yourself. The first reactions have been mixed: some said it’s an mediocre film, some claimed it was nothing special, while others praised it for its reality. And I think this is where “The 5th Wave” stands out from all other YA movies: it’s real, it’s note in the future, and above all it’s raw. There’s blood, there’s filth, there’s reality and there’s even some cursing. “The 5th Wave” combines multiple elements and creates a movie that speaks to a lot of different people.

“Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother.” [IMDb]

When Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz)  goes to soccerpractive one morning, the team gets distracted by a newsreel about a spaceship that has evaded earth, her worlds seems to be turned upside down. After a couple of days without any contact with the spaceship, all the power goes down. It’s the first wave. Shortly after all the electronics stop working, a huge earthquake happens with a tsunami and lots of destruction as a result. The second wave. What follows is a deadly infection that kills about 96% of the human race. The third wave. Cassie mother (Maggie Siff) doesn’t survive the third wave. The world is in chaos, and joined by her father (Ron Livingstone) and younger brother Sam (Zackary Arthur) Cassie seeks refugee at a refugee camp. When Sam is ‘saved’ by the army, Cassie finds out that everything is different from what she thought it was supposed to be. The aliens, the Others, have taken her brother, and she will do anything humanly possible to save him. And then came the fifth wave. A horror nobody could foresee.

“The 5th Wave” is based on the critically and popular acclaimed similar named novel from 2013, written by Rick Yancey. You can read my book review HERE. Because the book was such a success, a lot was expected from the movie with Moretz as the main character. As a experienced actor Moretz knew how to keep performing well while the screenplay was pretty bad. I expected more of Susanna Grant, Akica Goldsman and Jeff Pinker, who all got prizes for writing screenplays. Alex Roe, who portrays sexy hunky hero to the rescue Even Walked, seemed to struggle with with the screenplay. The romantic scenes almost seem to sappy, to thick emphasizing their love for each other, that it almost felt uncomfortable. I expected more of these famous and experienced screenwriters. While the book was written originally and raw, the movie seemed to support on cliches and the once so strong words written by Yancey seemed to have disappeared. I suppose they think that would work for such a young audience, but I didn’t like it at all and I think this is why some people don’t take the movie seriously.

Nick Robinson, high school crush Ben Parrish, lights up the movie with his humor. Without him, the movie would’ve been pretty dark. Hope was the most important thing of the movie, but this theme was only established at the end of the movie. I didn’t really like the last couple of scenes of the movie, they made for an anti-climax. I also didn’t like the special effects at all, because they appeared to be very fake.

Despite of the poor screenplay and the so-so special effects, the movie included some very interesting fighting scenes and beautiful camera images that followed the perspective of the characters perfectly. This was copied smartly from the book, as to where the story is told from multiple perspectives. The score was written by Henry Jackman. I liked the music, and it worked for the movie, but it wasn’t very special or spectacular. The music did call on my emotions during the sad scenes by using a very fragile sounding violin. I consider that a good thing.

The story behind the movie is strong, just like the cast that is made up of very young actors. To enjoy the movie, you have to be able to see through the cliches, to see the original story of a ordinary girl finding herself in an extra-ordinary situation. Chloë personifies this very well, which gives the movie a very realistic feeling. When watching the movie you will wonder: WHAT IF? The movie is about what it means to be human, but also about learning to trust yourself when the world around you crumbles down and you don’t know who to trust. With elements such as tension, romance and a flicker of humor, the movie speaks to a broad audience. Though I do believe you will enjoy this movie the most when you are truly interested in young adult stories.

Please let me know what your opinion is about “The 5th Wave”. Did you like it? Did you enjoy watching it? Please let us know down below in the comments section.

You can pre-order the DVD and Blu-Ray down below.

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