‘The 5th Wave’ Review: Corny and Predictable But I Loved It

Atlanta dubs for Ohio in the newly released The 5th Wave, which is based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same name by Rick Yancey. The movie follows Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is on the run trying to save her younger brother after a series (4 waves to be exact) of alien attacks which have left most of Earth decimated.

I feel I should start out saying that I am not the target audience for this film. I’m in my 30’s, and the young-adult genre films are not really my cup of tea. While I liked the Hunger Games and the Divergent films I’ve seen so far, this one isn’t quite on the same level. It’s definitely made for the demographic that was in love with the Twilight films – that was not me, yet I found The 5th Wave oddly endearing despite the corny dialogue and predictable twists.

Why you ask? I’m not going to lie, it probably had a little do with Alex Roe. Aside from him being easy on the eyes, I think what appeals about some of these YA films is that they remind us gals about that first love era. Mix in a little supernatural element with that love, and you’ve got the formula for success with the majority of the YA film and television that’s currently out there.

Enough sap from me though, The 5th Wave does have its fair share of problems. The first major issue I had was that the trailer doesn’t represent the film correctly. This isn’t an actual action-adventure tale in my opinion. It’s a supernatural-love-triangle YA film. Sure there’s some action and adventure, but I didn’t get what I was expecting. The studios need to embrace what this film is at its core, because it would have much bigger draw this weekend at the box office if they did.

The 5th Wave Trailer

My next issue is that I called the twist as soon as one can call it. Not even a third of the way into film, and then I called the second twist too. While I may love the supernatural-love-triangle formula, I still appreciate when I can get lost in a film and have no idea what’s coming – The 5th Wave isn’t that kind of film.

And finally, I just couldn’t buy Chloë Grace Moretz as the lead. She didn’t feel like the right fit to me. She’s a fine actress, and I enjoy her work. However, it just seemed like something wasn’t being brought to the table with Cassie. And while I appreciated the clique and over-the-top scenes that made me giggle (you’ll know them when you see them), there was something just uncomfortably creepy about her next to Roe’s Evan.

All of this being said, I did rather love the movie. Perhaps, I’m a typical YA loving girl and just don’t want to be, but I have to admit, I’m really hoping this film does well enough to get a sequel. Because if it doesn’t yours truly is going out and buy the second book and the following book in May.

Grade: B-