Uglies

You will not run into any surprises in this dystopian teen soap opera of a film. It contains a lot of tired tropes and cliched sci-fi scenarios, and doesn't really offer a new spin on anything. The plot is ripped straight out of the 1976 classic sci-fi film (and the novel that proceeded it) Logan's Run. Meanwhile, the main conceit of the film is straight out of a Twilight Zone episode: What would you do to fit in with the "pretty" crowd?

Of course, everyone is pretty in this world already, as the cast consists entirely of fresh-faced, fit young adults -- no one is overweight, disabled, or disfigured. The only blemish in the entire CGI-filled world is a scar on the hand. (The horror!) All of this would be forgivable if the acting and writing were on par with, say, The Hunger Games -- another YA series with a similar dystopian feel. Alas, that is not the case, as dramatic lines like, "Yup, I'm David." are the best that the film has to offer.

Plus, the unsatisfying conclusion seems to exist only to set up a sequel -- ugh! Netflix has a very mixed bag lately when it comes to sci-fi, the most underserved genre on the streaming service. On the one hand, they gave us the amazing first season of Three-Body Problem and Adam Sandler's underappreciated masterpiece, Spaceman. On the other hand, they waste a lot of time and money making hot garbage like this film or Zack Snyder's poorly conceived two-part Rebel Moon.

Netflix, not all sci-fi has to be super-cerebral, but it's definitely not about CGI and "pretty" characters. At its core, sci-fi exists to hold aa mirror up to us, exploring morality by posing the question of what humans would do in extraordinary circumstances. By taking the characters out of the everyday, it allows us to more closely examine what it truly means, at its core, to be human. But this movie falls far short of that goal, offering us only a generic story that we've seen far too often already. So, please, Netflix, do not greenlight the sequel to this movie.

I don't get what some of the reviewers here expected from this movie. Who gets on Netflix in search of a cinematic masterpiece and thinks "Ah, this Netflix-produced teen action flick by someone who calls themselves McG sure will be it". 😂

This is exactly what you'd expect- just a fun, mindless modern day TV movie with average acting, average effects and lots of plot holes, but sufficiently engaging and entertaining. Perfect for a night in when you're tired and can't be bothered to follow anything more complex.

If you're looking for something ambitious, intelligent and well crafted there are enough choices out there. This isn't it, and it doesn't ever pretend to be.

This movie just became available and judging by some of the 'reviews' here many watched it (or didn't) just to leave a negative review.

While it cannot be considered a masterpiece it in fact is a fairly entertaining parody of modern society. The idea that people place an inappropriately high value on "how someone looks." When friends meet at an event or party a common greeting is "You look really good in that outfit." Or "I love your new hairstyle." I suspect being "pretty" or "handsome" helps people get jobs or elected for public office.

Some reviewers point out that the actors, including Joey King, aren't really ugly. That misses the point, in this society they are considered ugly because they are ordinary. When we see those who have turned 16 and undergone their transition, their beauty is about what you get when someone has a glamor makeup session. Or the usual makeup movie stars get for the role they are playing.

But that is only part of it, they also are brainwashed to believing that "Free thinking is a cancer" and conforming will make everyone happier. (Shades of 'Pleasantville.')

So Joey King plays 'Squint", she is about to turn 16, her mantra is "I want to be pretty." But there is a rogue world outside her city where rebels are living the old way, children with their parents, growing their own real food. And the movie ultimately gets the 'Rusties" as they are called pited against the establishment.

Movies like this are made to entertain and my wife and I were entertained, watching at home, streaming. As the movie went she said she thought maybe she had read the books some years past and later found out she did. They are considered 'Young Adult' books and that fits with the themes here.

First of there isn't a single ugly person in the cast.

The concept of everyone prioritizing being pretty made no sense because how does it contribute to the development of society in the movie? Like you become pretty and that's all? How do these people even make a living do you just become pretty and party all the time?

Because that's what it looked like "Get pretty and just live your life". Overall the movie had some good CGI and the action scenes were okay.

The whole concept of the movie felt a bit like they were trying to give off some Hunger Games vibe and the idea of the rebellion being led by the smoke(David) felt kinda off because it would have made more sense if his parents were the leaders of the rebellion seeing as they were the first to actually leave the city.

So this film is fine. It sets up a standard future world we have all seen before. Typical Government villain. It does nothing new with the beauty argument. It's all just copy and paste from another script.

The main characters are all beautiful before they get the surgery. Which really hurts the logic of the movie. They needed to explain why getting mandatory surgery actually helps the world. Instead we get one paragraph at the start which just says that it does, and moves on.

They introduce hover boards which everyone in the world should have, but nope; Just these two teenagers who happen to have this super rare technology. And one of them gets given it.

They then introduce magically bracelets which protect them from falls. Might make sense after they get the boards, but nope. Main character just happens to be wearing it, when she needs it after falling off a building. But it then fails to work for the first fall from the board?

There are some nice shots of the future city which really help. But this entire world is just that one city. We never learn about the rest of the planet.

Parents abandon their children. We get some emotional manipulation line later in the film that you could say justifies this action. But it's left for you, the audience to connect the dots on that one.

Overall it's worth a background watch while doing something else. And as a straight to Netflix movie, it's above average. But the writers could have done more with the concept and I just feel like they were treading through the motions on this one, and more imagination was needed to elevate the script beyond the formulaic.