Die 5. Welle

We had The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, St Elmo's Fire, The Goonies to name but a few. Defining moments in movies, defining teenage angst, growing pains and young love and loves lost. Films that stand up today, not just for nostalgia's sake but because of solid acting, amazing characters and good stories.

I despair for the drivel that our millennial's have to endure today in the name of cinema. If you've grown up on good films through the years then you want to avoid The Fifth Wave. Encourage your young-lings to watch something else.

Chloe maybe a good actress, but she couldn't drag the film from the mire of this cliché driven plot line with shallow characters and an awfully banal story of an alien plot to take over the Earth in as seemingly clueless manner as possible.

The 5th Wave (2016) is a movie I was obsessed with while I was at college and I would constantly rewatch it so many times that I have lost track of how many times I've watched it and I cover it. Now as an adult, this is one of those movies where you start to notice all of the major problems with it and yet I still find myself having some dumb fun.

Positives for The 5th Wave (2016): This is one of those movies that would be viewed as delicious garbage. There is so much wrong with the movie and yet I can still have fun watching and laughing at the stupidity on screen. The movie has a surprisingly stacked cast including Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe, Zackary Arthur, Liev Schreiber, Tony Revolori, Talitha Bateman and Nadji Jeter. They all do a fine job with what they have to work with. There is a decent shootout during one scene that was mildy entertaining. The movie has a good pace and I wasn't even bored for one second throughout the entire movie. And finally, this is the type of movie you need to turn your brain off so that you can enjoy it.

Negatives for The 5th Wave (2016): This movie is desperately trying to become a major young adult franchise and yet it feels like a young adult movie that I have seen many times before. I find it hilarious that everyone in the young cast looks clean and well groomed despite this movie taking place during an apocalypse. The movie tries to make Maika Monroe look like a badass and it just doesn't work and it's not that she can't play a badass, but Sony Pictures was trying way too hard. The CGI looks hilariously bad with the waves and the explosion at the end. The plot twist regarding the aliens is so painfully obvious that it is hilarious to watch. And finally, the movie ends on a note that tries to set up a possible franchise except Sony Pictures failed and it blew up in their faces.

Overall, The 5th Wave (2016) is a movies that I used to love, but t have to admit that it sucks and yet I would still have fun watching the movie.

Rating it a 7 because it totally kept my attention. However, this could have been a 9. The first 30 minutes are really good. They really should have kept down that serious adult track. Unfortunately it became a teen movie. It's like running a marathon and gassing out after mile 8. They should have kept it adult level, but rather it got a little cheesy making it a kid-level PG-ish feel. All that being said, there was still enough to keep my attention to finish up and I didn't regret my 2-hour investment.

This film tells the story of a young girl who fights to survive and to reunite with her brother, after mysterious alien attacks on Earth by various methods.

"The 5th Wave" is a bit different from other alien attach films because there is no widespread battles in urban areas. There is not even an alien looking creature in sight! That keeps mystery alive and suspense going. The first few waves unfold quite quickly, and the fifth wave takes time to develop. Just when things seem to be a certain way, there are multiple plot twists happening together which makes the film even more interesting. The guy playing Evan Walker is very handsome, I hope to see more of him in future films. Another good thing is that "The 5th Wave" is not preachy at all, unlike a similar recent film "Tomorrowland". I enjoyed watching "The 5th Wave".

So this basically reminded me of Red Dawn. But I enjoyed it more. For me, Chloe carried the film. And they mix it up enough with action, adventure, and romance. To keep you entertained long enough.

I'm glad they didn't drag out the movie, but disappointed they aren't going to make the other 2 films related to the other books.