Is it not a big letdown when a movie starts off so well and suddenly devolves into an utter crapfest? That’s how The 5th Wave left me feeling.
The film, which hits Blu-ray today slightly more than three months after debuting in theatres, is an adaptation of the bestselling Young Adult novel by Rick Yancey. The story revolves around Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz), a survivor of an alien invasion searching for her young brother who has become part of an army of youths fighting the enemy known as The Others.
The 5th Wave starts off incredibly strong, as we watch the arrival of spaceships and the destruction that comes in their wake, or waves as its referred to in the film. Moretz is a fantastic actor who is usually very compelling on screen, and she does solid work throughout most of the film. The visuals of the world coming apart are well done and frightening – as a fan of apocalyptic films, I was impressed with what I saw on screen.
Unfortunately, about halfway through The 5th Wave, everything just goes completely off the rails.
None of the young little G.I. Joes tasked with joining the army are compelling characters, leaving the actors with very little to work with. Maika Monroe, best known for her stand out performance in It Follows, is particularly lacklustre as Ripper, as cliched a badass character as you’ll in a film. Liev Schreiber and Maria Bello, both strong actors, are wasted as well; both of them appear to be sleepwalking through their performances.
The ending to The 5th Wave is hugely underwhelming, but truth be told, I’m surprised I actually made it through the entire film. What started as extremely promising devolved into something unapologetically boring, and an unfortunate credit on everyone’s CV.
