The 5th Wave

I haven’t read the book based on which the movie The 5^th Wave was made, but even without having any knowledge about the characters, I was able to guess the story line and that according to me is the biggest low point of The 5^th Wave. Directed by J Blakeson, this alien invasion story is unappealing throughout its runtime.

Cassie was a high school girl who lost her father and mother in the attack by the aliens. There is a fifth wave of attack coming and Colonel Vosch is training a group of kids including Cassie’s little brother Sam to prepare them for counter attack against the 5^th wave. Cassie’s attempt to get back to her brother and the 5^th wave attack is what this movie showing us.

Seeing a kid carrying a big gun twice his or her size and entering a war zone is a visual that is hard to convince. In The 5^th Wave, you get to see that and simply because of the lack of conviction in building such intense situations, it looks really immature. The trailer has got all the key or amusing elements of the movie and if you watch the movie after seeing its trailer, there is hardly anything to amuse you. The quintessential intrigue and proper insulation of the suspense was also missing.

Chloe Grace Moretz said in an interview that she chose this role because she could sense some realness in the script. The actress was fine as the always gasping Cassie, but I couldn’t really see that real part which she was referring. Nothing much was there for others to deliver a substantial performance.

Blakeson starts off the film in grand scale depicting the waves with the help of great visual effects. But after that he loses it and the movie becomes too cold and swift. The army recruitment, the training, the twilight like love story etc. look really charmless on screen. The screenplay lacks that crispness in narration and like I said, it failed in maintaining a good suspense.

On the whole The 5^th Wave is an underwhelming science fiction thriller that fails to invite its viewers to an edge of the seat experience. Even as a tale of family bonding, the movie fails as it isn’t investing much on that relation.

By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.

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