Movie: The 5th Wave
Direction: J Blakeson
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe, Liev Schreiber
Music: Henry Jackman
Cinematographer: Enrique Chediak
Editor: Paul Rubell
Genre: Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Adventure
Rating: ∗∗
What is it about: It’s a Science fiction thriller based on Rick Yancey’s novel of the same name, where in the aliens attack the earth in 4 waves leaving the earth in despair leading to the 5th wave. Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) is on run for survival and to save her younger brother from the clutches of the aliens. This one is directed by J Blakeson and is produced by Graham King and Tobey Maguire.
Why it’s disappointing: The film had a great premise for a potential science fiction thriller, which could have made this one a credible franchise to look for in the future. But the lazed out treatment to the script was a major let down. They tried to infuse one too many things which resulted in a chaos, making it an uninteresting post-apocalyptic movie.
The narration from Cassie’s point of view was a good one, but that doesn’t hold much ground which gets lost with diving in to the clichés of “Twilight” kind of romance. I agree the lead role is of a teenager, but the romance was forced and was not convincing. Which made the scenes so cheesy that audience burst in to laughter at a point in the movie not because it was good, but was so darn corny.
The excitement and commitment the plot shows in the beginning wears out soon within few minutes in to the movie. The sub plot of romance just reminds you of the scenes from “Twilight”. Hollywood has the formula of making movies based on Young Adult Fiction Books, which doesn’t seem to stop. This one is another adaptation which could not hold its ground in the first movie itself.
There is a point in the movie, where the children are trained to fight the aliens, not even a single sequence makes you believe that the makers are serious about their movie. Even the TV series make better sequences than this.
The cast of the film was not well picked except for the lead role of Cassie. None of them warm up to being a kid who can handle their stuff. “The 5th Wave” will be a trilogy the studio had planned for, hope the upcoming ones are better and make it up for a bad start.
What to watch out for: The scenes involving VFX were beautifully derived with great effects adding some thrills to the stale movie it had become due to lack lustre treatment to the screenplay. The sound was well mixed with an edgy cinematography by Enrique Chediak. The score was decent and tried to compliment the technical aspects of the film.
Chloë Grace Moretz is a young actress whose potential is a commendable one. Her choice of movies may be a question, but she never lets down her part as an actress, can pull off any character with great integrity. She’s one main reason for “The 5th Wave” being an edible one. Her performance was a good one, which held the audience for the runtime.
Verdict: J Blakeson sticks to the generic formula of this genre, there’s nothing new which would excite the audience. Among the crowded table of Young Adult Fiction movies, “The 5th Wave” gets lost with no creativity.
