The 5th Wave is an apocalyptic survival
story, told through the eyes of Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace
Moretz). She's just like any other sixteen year old girl (crushing on
boys/going to parties) until the day a UFO appears in the sky outside
her house. As ten days pass without the authorities being able to
make contact, it seems harmless enough. And that's when the first
wave of destruction suddenly hits. This is quickly followed by the
second wave. And then the third. And the fourth. With the help of Evan
Walker (Alex Roe), Cassie's now faced with the difficult task of
navigating a new and frightening world in order to reunite with her
brother.
I can't claim to be a connoisseur of
alien invasion stories (or catastrophe movies in general) but the
first half of The 5th Wave felt refreshingly realistic. Not only did
the gradual destruction of the planet make sense but so did Cassie's
family's reaction as well. I'm sure there are a variety of responses
when faced with the unknown but I'm only used to seeing the one where
the family haphazardly starts throwing everything into the vehicle
and going off to somewhere equally unsafe. That's why I was
thoroughly surprised and delighted that The 5th Wave gave us the
opposite: despite the UFO hovering above their city, the Sullivans
try to wait it out. What that means, for us as
viewers, is that we get to experience Cassie's neighborhood emptying
at the same time as her school gradually looses its students. It's almost like watching a slow and anxiety-invoking destruction of their society.
Now, I'm not at all opposed to a bit of
romance in these types of movies (to be honest.. it feels like the
best of both worlds) but when it's predictable and poorly timed with
a hint of stalking, I'm less enthused. See – I'm sure love can be
found whenever/wherever, but is it really likely that one'll stop to
make out in a collapsing building, while desperately trying to find
one's brother in time? Also, and I can't stress this enough: any
movie with the “I liked you from the moment I saw you, so I
proceeded to follow you around wherever you went” trope,
automatically looses its credibility. As a result, The 5th Wave ends
up with two conflicting halves – the realistic first half and the
second (unrealistic) Twilight-y half, which leaves me feeling like
I've watched two separate movies.
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