“The 5th Wave” is an alien invasion story that breaks the speed limit to get to the last wave as quickly as possible.
The story centers on high-schooler Cassie, played by Chloë Grace Moretz. She has a younger brother named Sam and a crush on Ben, who doesn’t seem to show any interest in her. But her world is about to change.
The aliens arrive in much the same way as in “Independence Day”—with that ominous space ship hovering overhead. But unlike that film, which dedicates time to showing us what is going on, “The 5th Wave” skips all that and flashes through a montage as waves descend upon earth with Cassie narrating over it.
The scenes look good as buildings crumble under the attack and areas get flooded. But it’s difficult to feel engaged in these scenes when they’re rushed through to set up the real story. I would have preferred a slow burn here to let us feel the horrors and loss. As it’s presented, they were merely visuals when it could have been so much more. I say, break the story up into sequels if you have to. It’s a young adult, post apocalyptic film, which usually means another movie is meant to follow anyways.
By the end of the first act, the story has moved forward and Cassie is left on her own in search of her brother, who she got separated from. The film jumps between Cassie and the facility where her brother was taken. But not much time is spent on Sam. Instead the main focus is on another character, so much so that I was beginning to wonder what happened to poor Sam.
The plot points were predictable but there was still things to enjoy. Cassie’s journey lead to some tension with potential aliens taking up arms and killing humans, and I could feel her desperation at this point as this is when the story felt personal to me… she had to find her little brother.
Meanwhile, the story line at the facility melded action sequences with information and revelations about what is going.
Although, the beginning felt rushed, the rest of the story was a fun ride. I enjoyed following Cassie around. And although the film has a completed ending, I feel there is more story to tell here. And I think the sequel could easily avoid the first act issues of this film since it will start right in the middle of the story without much set-up.
Score: 6.75/10
