The 5th Wave (2015) Movie Review

The 5th Wave is the ultimate Y.A concoction 

Director: J BlakesonStarring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe, Liev SchreiberStudios: Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures
Plot: A girl must survive and fight her way to find her brother who is sent to a military facility to combat extraterrestrial creatures that has invaded the world.

We've seen the best and the worst of the Y.A genre these past couple of years, with the release of the genre defining big screen adaptations of the Harry Potter and Twilight book series. Then, we saw the arrival of a new Y.A era, the Sci-fi adventures, mostly revolving around survival on a dystopian or post-apocalyptic world. We fought with Katniss as she tries to survive The Hunger Games. We fell in love with Z (a zombie) as he tries to court a girl in Warm Bodies. We disguised with Tris as she tries to hide her real identity as a Divergent. We followed Tohmas as he ran through the deadly labyrinths alongside fellow Maze Runners. But there are some who still who lived in the land of fantasies, from the witches of Beautiful Creatures, vampires of Vampire Academy, and shadowhunters of The Mortal Instruments.

Now, we follow 16-year-old Cassie Sullivan as she tries to find her brother in the midst of a series (or waves) of strategic alien tactics to invade the Earth in 'The 5th Wave'. This movie is based on the hit sci-fi YA novel by Rick Yancey. So how does the film turn out? Did it find a way to break free from the slew of other YA adaptations in recent years? Here's my verdict of the film in another special from Certified Ace!

Let me clarify something first. I'm a 21 year old guy who loves watching horror movies. I do read sometimes. And when I say sometimes, I mean very, very rare. I don't really have the time and patience to read every new book in the YA corner. also, I'm a big sucker for Chloe Grace Moretz. I fell in love with her after seeing her as Hit-Girl in the Kick Ass movies, even further more when she played the bullied telekinetic teenager Carrie in the 2013 reboot. So ever since then, I've always followed her.

So when I first heard about The 5th Wave being adapted into a feature film starring Chloe Grace Moretz, I was a really hyped to see this. Imagine her fighting aliens invading the world (or somewhat like that based on the news article I've read at that time). But when the film actually came out, it turned out that it was a completely different film. I was expecting more like Divergent or the Maze Runner type of movie since that's what's in right now. But after watching it, the film turns out to be more in the veins of War of the Worlds/ Independence Day/ 2012/ plus all the other invasion/ disaster movies I've seen before. Which actually turned out to be a pretty good thing. It made the film stand out amongst recent YA adaptions like last year's Insurgent and The Scorch Trials (both of which were YA sequels). It's not the usual YA theme which involves a chosen girl/ boy to save the humanity/ society/ world. It's just about a normal girl trying to survive and save her brother.


Aside from the alien invasion aspect of the film, let's not forget about the main thing that the film revolves around with. The Waves. A series of alien strategies aimed to destroy and ultimately defeat humanity. It first starts with the world losing electricity, causing darkness all over the globe. it was followed by waters rising, causing tsunamis sweeping across continents, leaving nothing but destruction. those who survived these disasters suffered from an illness caused by an unknown infection, leaving thousands dead. And the fourth wave starts with these aliens taking in human form and killing every remaining survivor.

The first few minutes spends it's time showing these waves in a very spectacular fashion, setting up the whole film's atmosphere and tone. The tidal waves sequence is probably my favorite among all of them, but I must say that the first wave (light's out) also features some really nice disaster spectacle as an airplane falls from the sky as it ran out of electricity, causing mayhem.

Of course, this wouldn't be possible without the great effects team that committed their time and effort for the film. I was actually astounded because I found out that the film's budget was just around $30 million dollars. I cant believe how come this low-budget sci-fi flick managed to be more spectacular than the last year's Insurgent (which I really despise a lot. Don't get me wrong here. I love Divergent, but the sequel was just a disaster, and I mean that badly).

The film also deserves some praise with it's dark tone and atmosphere. The film's first half contains themes of loss, of death and grieving. And it also features one of the best scenes of Moretz. The film further delves into a darker side as the children of the last remaining humans are forced to fight the others in a gun battle. Kids and young adults die holding guns in their hands. Death and violence everywhere, though it's not as violent as The Hunger Games saga.

Then, comes the story. Which probably is the weakest part of the film. Yes, I totally agree that the film (or the book) that it looks like a mash-up of different invasion/ disaster/ sci-fi/ adventure/ thriller/ action/ YA films that we've seen (or for some, read) before. But then, it manages to give these known genre clichés a unique and fresh take which makes the film really enjoyable.

Last but not the least, one of the biggest selling point of the film, obviously is the cast. a very good set6 of talented actors and actresses are featured in the film. We have Liev Schreiber as Colonel Vosch, whose character looks like he's hiding something dark and sinister from the very first scene where he appeared in the movie. There's Maria Bello as the strict Sergeant Reznik. I really didn't liked her character from the very beginning. I soon found out why after watching the whole movie.

 Ron Livingston as Oliver Sullivan is one of it's biggest surprise. Like his role from 2013's The Conjuring, he also plays a dad here fighting for his family. Nothing really special in the character. But his presence alone makes it interesting. Teenage girls will definitely fall head over heals wi8th the film's two male leads: Nick Robinson as Ben Parish/Zombie and Alex Roe as Evan Walker. I've been a fan of Nick Robinson after seeing him in last year's Jurassic World. He brings a new look to the teenage-boy-with-angry-issues stereotype here. Alex Roe's fresh new face is definitely going to melt every girl's heart out. But the one that amazed me the most is Chloë Grace Moretz as Cassie Sullivan. She shows her acting prowess in this film. She is definitely at her best here, which added to my overall enjoyment. One of her best scenes involved her running through the woods after escaping a massacre where she saw her father die. She falls in her knees and screams out her lungs with agony and pain. This is my second most favorite moment of Chloë Grace Moretz, next to her amazingly choreographed Prom Mayhem from 2013's Carrie.

So far, this is one of my contenders for most favorite films for 2016. I know it's too early, but I'm already saving a spot for this one.


Verdict: Definitely one of my favorite from the YA genre, with a fresh new take on the common alien invasion theme, mixed with every bit out from all the genres for a satisfying concoction.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰ out of 5