With overtures of Tomorrow When the War Began and the love triangle in The Hunger Games, yet another dystopian film franchise kicks off, this time starring Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass).
Earth has been invaded by what are termed The Others; aliens whose mother ship hovers menacingly over the United States. At first that is all that happens, but a sense of foreboding is palpable and before too long all power is drained from the planet. Subsequently earthquakes, tsunamis and bird flu kill off the lion’s share of the populace as wave after wave of attacks is triggered. The heroine is naturally Moretz, who takes the lead role as Cassie (short for Cassiopeia) Sullivan, a bright 16-year-old who dotes on her younger brother Sam. During the increasingly deadly alien invasion, Cassie and Sam are separated as the latter is repatriated and sent to a military base. In this new world order, no one is safe and Cassie desperately tries to reunite with her sibling to save him from harm. The Others, who can disguise themselves as humans, intend to wipe out the planet’s original inhabitants and claim it for themselves.
The 5th Wave is based on Rick Yancey’s bestselling teen novel of the same name, which was published in 2013 to critical and popular acclaim. It spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers’ list, while the second book in the trilogy met with similar approval and success. A third will be released later this year.
The film is directed by J Blakeson, whose only other feature was The Disappearance of Alice Creed in 2009, which he also wrote. At the heart of the story are the questions anyone faces as they make the transition from teenager to adult, not the least of which is who can I trust? As Blakeson observes, in the film, as in real life, you can’t tell if someone is good or bad just by looking at them.
Two guys take an interest in Cassie, just like they do in Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. In this case the first is Ben Parish (Nick Robinson), a popular football player at Cassie’s high school and the other a strapping young man named Evan Walker (Alex Roe), who rescues her. Moretz isn’t the only young female member of the cast to hold her own against the guys. She is joined by a recalcitrant that doesn’t exactly play by the rules, in Marika aka Ringer (Maika Monroe). The soldiers’ commander is a role filled by Liev Schreiber.
While the set up is strong and the action consistent, the longer the film went the more preposterous it became. I understand that with this genre you have to suspend belief, but surely plausibility is a critical ingredient. I dare say tweens who have read the books will be satisfied. I, on the other hand, who hadn’t, simply judge it as a standalone picture against other movies of similar type. In that regard, while it isn’t a dreadful commencement to a new series, for mine it doesn’t reach the heights that The Hunger Games, Divergent or The Maze Runner did.
Moretz though is most certainly a highly capable and talented performer, someone who is most appropriate to build a new franchise around. I just had some issues with the script, especially as The 5th Wave reached its climax and a number of the key players were able to gain remarkably easy access to a supposedly well-patrolled facility. Rated M, it scores a 6 out of 10.
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television