Film Review: The 5th Wave
Content Editor, Film Critic and Writer for ComiConverse.com, the Founder and co-host of the official Nerdcast Network Podcast
The 5th Wave has been released and our Lead Film Critic Jordan Samuel brings us the official ComiConverse review.
Chloë Grace Moretz has made quite a name for herself with the Kick Ass series; becoming one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood with her confident portrayal as Hit-Girl. Time has passed since then, and in 2016 she has been given a shot at her own young adult franchise with The 5th Wave.
The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston and Maggie Siff.
But does it work?
Find out as ComiConverse surfs into The 5th Wave.
Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth devastated. Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, Cassie Sullivan is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother Sammy. As she prepares for the fifth wave, Cassie teams up with a young man named Evan, who may become her final hope â if only she could trust him. IMBD
British Director J. Blakeson helms this live-action adaptation of the novel, which features some decent cinematography that all falls apart due to some dated destruction-porn.
Chloe is Cassie Sullivan a young woman who is on the run, and looking for her brother â she provides a solid performance in the role, but sadly isn't given enough character development. Â Cassie is an interesting person to follow on-screen, but Director J. Blakeson never focuses on her story and, instead, gives her friends more screen time.
Chloe is confident as Cassie, which should give audiences someone to route for in the crazy world of the film, but outside of her performance, nobody else is likeable in the movie.
Nick Robinson plays Ben Parish who provides the romance interest in The 5th Wave. Sadly, Nick is not given the best writing support, which is a bit of an ongoing theme. The project's creators waste any potential for making the character feel human.
Ben feels like a generic hero type, who is good at everything and is basically indestructible. This would work in a science fiction movie, but due to the world feeling so real, he just comes across as deluded and quite annoying.
Alex Roe plays Evan Walker, a man who is humanity's only hope for survival. Another character who is yet wasted due to an appalling script. He is more interesting than Ben due to the distrust between him and Cassie, which makes him feel very mysterious. However, unlike Ben, Alex Roe is a knockout in his role and works really well with Chloe.
Blakeson does use some varied camera work, but it feels too much like he's channeling his inner Roland Emmerich in parts of this film. He loves destruction and that is shown throughout The 5th Wave â but it doesn't give us anything new, which is needed in a young adult genre too often watered down by repetitive story arcs.
Henry Jackman provides the score, and it probably is the best thing about the movie. With certain themes matching well with the destruction shown on screen. If only this music could have been used with a better film.
The film has other serious problems which all revolve around the confusing alien storyline, that feels like something from a 1960's B Movie. The 5th Wave's writing is all over the place and culminates in a very odd ending that feels like a slap in the face to anyone unfortunate enough to have bought a ticket.
Being the first film I have reviewed for ComiConverse in 2016, The 5th Wave has depressed me as being just another generic young adult movie, that could have been much more. Despite interesting casting, nothing here stands up its rival franchises and just feels like wasted opportunity to generate a new series.
Jordan Samuel is the Film Critic for ComiConverse. Follow him on Twitter: @JordanESamuel
Bad
The 5th Wave is a painful dive that just showcases everything wrong in Hollywood; wasting talented actors for a quick buck.