![]() ![]() ![]() This end-of-the-world business isn’t all work and no play.īut The 5th Wave can barely distinguish itself from other recent teen-dystopia dramas (like The Hunger Games series, which at least has some colorful characters in its court, not to mention Jennifer Lawrence) or other disaster movies too numerous to name. One or two nice things happen: She’s wounded and rescued by a mysterious hunk (played by Alex Roe), and at one point she gets to watch him splash his naked torso in a cool, glittering Midwestern stream. Meanwhile, Moretz’s Cassie suffers all manner of end-of-the-world indignities, such as having to scrounge around for supplies in deserted convenience stores (a staple end-of-days pastime) and believing she’ll never again see the boy she likes, Ben (Nick Robinson). The fifth stage of their attack involves mind control, child soldiers and Liev Schreiber. They start by cutting off the electricity and making planes fall from the sky next come horrific earthquakes and tidal waves, followed by a super-duper killer version of avian flu. But oh, how wrong humans can be! It turns out the Others really do want the earth for their very own, and they have a multi-stage plan for getting it. Really, what could they possibly want? The planet? Nah. No one knows what the aliens inside, who will come to be called “the Others,” want. ![]() In The 5th Wave, the beginning of the end is the appearance of a large, jagged space ship-a silent behemoth that looks as if it’s covered with pencil-lead shavings-hovering above the Earth’s surface. This began with the promise of a braver tone than most of its predecessors it ends content to blend into the crowd.Cassie is played by Chloë Grace Moretz, and her subtlety and luminous charm make her the best thing about The 5th Wave, which is based on the first book in Rick Yancey’s 5th Wave trilogy of young adult novels. A whole lot of questions about what’s going on, virtually none of which are answered because you want people to come back for a sequel? Wearyingly, yes. ![]() One of the romantic interests turns out to be more complicated than he seems? Yup. By the time we reach the second hour, it’s all box-ticking. Blakeson had the foresight to cast the likes of Maria Bello and Liev Schreiber to add some weight, but they simply don’t have enough space to make an impact. Of course, romance is an important part of many young-adult films, but couldn’t it be done with more dynamism? A bit more than the basic ‘he’s complicated she’s confused’ schtick? Admittedly, she’s weak from blood-loss for part of their acquaintance, but the lightheadedness lasts far too long. If there’s a sequel, perhaps we’ll get to see Cassie sigh as Evan cradles an injured puppy or builds an orphanage. Cassie sighs at Evan as he rinses his pecs in a lake. As soon as Cassie meets a boy, Evan (Alex Roe), who is a bit different from the other boy she likes, Ben (Nick Robinson), the mood swings away from Cassie as a woman of action to Cassie as a woman able to sigh in a variety of locations. It must be these scenes that earned the film a 15 instead of the usual 12A there’s a dark familiarity that we haven’t seen in the more distant dystopias of other adaptations. If only it were more original in execution. ![]()
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