There seems to be a bombardment of young adult novel-to-film waves that simply won’t quit. Harry Potter took the world by storm, followed shortly thereafter by Twilight and The Hunger Games. Now, we have an array of watered down look-a-likes, which include but are not limited to Divergent, The Maze Runner, and array of failed experiments (Ender’s Game, The Host, The Giver, etc.).
With that, we come to The 5th Wave – an appropriate title that seems to indicate exactly what’s happening in the cinematic sci-fi teen genre. Wave after wave after wave… But, like the title of this film, itself, The 5th Waves feels like a necessary turning point for specific films of this nature – a turning point that indicates its time to put an end to all this …show more content…
After all, we see a premise like this used time and time again – evident in a variety of other invasion movies, ranging from Independence Day and War of the Worlds to Battleship and Edge of Tomorrow. The aliens might appear differently in each, but the idea of humanity having its back against the wall is far from a unique concept.
Here, The 5th Wave combines the young adult element, courtesy of the novel of the same name, written by Rick Yancey. He takes a simple, stale narrative that’s been beaten to death in countless other mediums and gives his story the kiss of death: teenagers being humanity’s last hope. It’s sort of like Maze Runner, only there are no zombies. It’s sort of like The Walking Dead, only there are no zombies. Wait – you know what this movie needed? Zombies.
The 5th Wave also incorporates the tiresome love triangle. Chloë Grace Moretz, likes Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, and Emma Watson before her, portrays a character that will be faced with the decision: do I want to be with my original crush, or should I go for the dark and dashing guy that I never expected to meet? Cleve concept to be sure – but at least Moretz isn’t deemed to be “the chosen one” or demonstrate shades of super powers that will need to be tamed and harnessed to save the …show more content…
This 18-year-old superstar-in-the-making has already capitalized on various teenage roles in films that include Kick-Ass, Carrie, and If I Stay. And, she should rightfully do everything in her power to make a name for herself – yet jumping on-board a young adult sci-fi saga was not the way to go, nor was it the ideal course for Shailene Woodley, who’s now trapped in the rapidly regressing Divergent Series.
Mortez never fully looks as if she’s entirely comfortable in this role, either – and I date say if she was truly in Walking Dead-like setting, she’d most certainly fall victim to the antagonists. Sorry, she just doesn’t look coordinated enough to flee from aliens. The same goes for the rest of this cast, too, which includes Nick Robinson (Jurassic World), the unknown Alex Roe, and notable newcomer, Maika Monroe (It Follows).
Their equally poor performances stem from the idea that kids are believable heroes – not to mention a ridiculous story from the mind of creditable author. That’s not to say kids can’t be heroes – but come on, against aliens? Aliens I might add that are apparently able to make a high tech space ship, but also happen to look like a lobster the size of a brain. Speaking of lobster aliens – is this what Liev Schreiber’s career has come to?
With that, we come to The 5th Wave – an appropriate title that seems to indicate exactly what’s happening in the cinematic sci-fi teen genre. Wave after wave after wave… But, like the title of this film, itself, The 5th Waves feels like a necessary turning point for specific films of this nature – a turning point that indicates its time to put an end to all this …show more content…
After all, we see a premise like this used time and time again – evident in a variety of other invasion movies, ranging from Independence Day and War of the Worlds to Battleship and Edge of Tomorrow. The aliens might appear differently in each, but the idea of humanity having its back against the wall is far from a unique concept.
Here, The 5th Wave combines the young adult element, courtesy of the novel of the same name, written by Rick Yancey. He takes a simple, stale narrative that’s been beaten to death in countless other mediums and gives his story the kiss of death: teenagers being humanity’s last hope. It’s sort of like Maze Runner, only there are no zombies. It’s sort of like The Walking Dead, only there are no zombies. Wait – you know what this movie needed? Zombies.
The 5th Wave also incorporates the tiresome love triangle. Chloë Grace Moretz, likes Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, and Emma Watson before her, portrays a character that will be faced with the decision: do I want to be with my original crush, or should I go for the dark and dashing guy that I never expected to meet? Cleve concept to be sure – but at least Moretz isn’t deemed to be “the chosen one” or demonstrate shades of super powers that will need to be tamed and harnessed to save the …show more content…
This 18-year-old superstar-in-the-making has already capitalized on various teenage roles in films that include Kick-Ass, Carrie, and If I Stay. And, she should rightfully do everything in her power to make a name for herself – yet jumping on-board a young adult sci-fi saga was not the way to go, nor was it the ideal course for Shailene Woodley, who’s now trapped in the rapidly regressing Divergent Series.
Mortez never fully looks as if she’s entirely comfortable in this role, either – and I date say if she was truly in Walking Dead-like setting, she’d most certainly fall victim to the antagonists. Sorry, she just doesn’t look coordinated enough to flee from aliens. The same goes for the rest of this cast, too, which includes Nick Robinson (Jurassic World), the unknown Alex Roe, and notable newcomer, Maika Monroe (It Follows).
Their equally poor performances stem from the idea that kids are believable heroes – not to mention a ridiculous story from the mind of creditable author. That’s not to say kids can’t be heroes – but come on, against aliens? Aliens I might add that are apparently able to make a high tech space ship, but also happen to look like a lobster the size of a brain. Speaking of lobster aliens – is this what Liev Schreiber’s career has come to?