The Fifth Wave

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2304933/ 

Stars: 2 1/2

Rated: PG-13

Studios: Columbia Pictures,

GK FIlms, LStar Capital     

Director: J Blakeson

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Matthew Zuk,

Gabriela Lopez  and Liev Schrieber       

Length: 112 Min

So, since I have no self control when it comes to movies, I found myself once again at the local Cineplex. For me it is the brand new Carmike 12 in Spring Hill Tennessee; which is, thankfully, directly across the street from my apartment. Well, not directly across the street; but, about two minutes from my apartment down the road and across the street. Just ask Dora I’m sure she can direct you too it with no problems. All you need to do is get your talking back pack out, and sing for the talking map. This actually works, I have tried it, trust me. Of course, I was using black magic and had to exercise a demon from out of my kids school backpack; but, I digress. Moving on. Since I am completely addicted to going to the movies and have as much control over myself as Bruce banner has when he is overcome by rage and transforms into the hulk, I found myself at the local Cineplex. I would be lying if I said that there were a plethora of films I wanted to see; but, there just simply wasn’t. Of course, since I had come all this way on the advice of a talking backpack, I was determined to spend my hard earned nickel on something. So, after about a minute of heartfelt soul searching, I decided to go see The Fifth Wave.  I know, I am not a fifteen year old girl, at least not last time I checked, but it was the only thing that truly interested me in the lineup of films that were playing at 9:55 on a Monday night.  Just to be clear, small town theaters only play films after 9:30 on weekends; so, my choices were very limited. Sure, I could have gone with Jane’s Got a Gun; but, I was genuinely curious about this film. So I got my usual from the snack bar for a million dollars and a pint of blood and headed into the theater.

As I stepped through the doors and into the sparsely lit theater my greatest fears were realized, when I saw that I was the only male in the theater who was over the age of seventeen. Well, since hiding my face in a bag was not an option, I stood up strait and owned it. Yes folks I was a single forty-one year old man who had come to see a tween movie without his children and without a date, and there is nothing odd or strange about that. I sat down and soon the four hours of previews began and before long the movie started. Now, before I get too far into my review, I want to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I came expecting twilight with aliens; but, what I received was so much more. Most of the criticism I had read about the film centered on the fact that they never showed the aliens. Well, in my opinion, this minimalistic approach to the subject matter is what gave the film impact and drew me into the world that the film makers had crafted. Even the score from the always amazing Henry Jackman, was at times hauntingly minimalistic; with, the composer choosing to use simple piano progressions in order to convey the emotions of the scenes that were unfolding. There were times when the film was loud and action packed; but, mostly the story was about survival and holding on to ones humanity in the face of a hopeless situation. I liken the stylistic choices of the director to that of the AMC’s The Walking Dead. No, there weren’t any aliens ripping apart humans and eating them; but, anyone who has seen the Walking Dead knows, it’s more about survival and how much of our humanity we are willing to give up in order to do so. In some small way, this film coveys these ideas through the experiences of the main character who is a high school age girl.

Of course, since the main hero of the story is a high school age girl there is, sadly, a teenage romance in the story. Over all, the romance was not bad, even if it was a little bit farfetched; and, it did take everything in me to not hurl up the M & Ms I had recently eaten. I think we older people forget just how strong the hormones of teenage young adults can be. All of us can agree, that we can remember a time when we fell insanely in love with someone at the drop of a hat or at a wayward glance; so, I won’t judge the realism of the romance in the Fifth Wave to harshly. All in all, it is a pretty shallow romance; but hey, aren’t all teenage romances in the end anyway? This film, however, is just the first part of a greater series; so I am sure, the romance will find its depth in time. Of course, given the poor showing the Fifth Wave has produced so far, I am not entirely sure the studio will choose to make the rest of the series. The romance aside, the rest of the film was surprisingly refreshing and a completely different take on a familiar idea that, quite frankly, Hollywood has done to death as of late. There are a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and the actual fifth wave was not what I expected; but, I will not ruin the surprise in the Cracker Jack box for those of you who decide to see this film. Chloe Grace Moretz does a valiant job fleshing out the character with the script she has been given, and I only rolled my eyes a few times at her acting. To be serious, I don’t think I have ever seen a movie she acted in where I was not impressed with her performance; and the Fifth Way was no different. I will just forget the romantic scenes and then she will retain her perfect record for me. Liev Schreiber, as always, gives a magnificent and memorable performance as the colonel; even though, the character is very stereotypical and a bit shallow. Both of the young male leads Nick Robinson (Zombie) and Alex Roe (Evan Walker) are not only forgettable; but, robotic in their performances of the very shallow and uninteresting characters. Again, this is just the first chapter in a greater story; so, if the current wave of tween novels being made into movies holds up, than hopefully both characters will become more interesting in the next two installments of the franchise. I personally won’t be holding my breath in anticipation, because I don’t want to pass out from lack of oxygen to my brain.

Overall, the Fifth Wave is not a great movie, but nor is it a bad movie. It is clever at times and it reminded me a bit of a film that might have been directed by a teenage Alfred Hitchcock with its minimalistic style choices, while simultaneously managing to maintain the cheese of a tween Nickelodeon romance drama; that, let’s be honest here, we all love but are afraid to admit out loud. No matter your interests, or unacknowledged guilty pleasure, the fifth wave has something for everyone; and, both parents and kids of all ages can view this film and find something that will entertain them. I will say one thing, however, there are scenes where children are used as soldiers and they are violent and disturbing at times; so, younger children and parents may find them a bit much. If this is the case for you; then, you might want to skip this film in favor of a PG or G rated film. Whereas the Fifth Wave is not the pinnacle of film noir or art; it is however, a very satisfying weekend blockbuster of a movie that can, and should be, enjoyed with some candy and a large popcorn by the whole family no matter what that looks like. (When I was a teenager I once took my entire group of imaginary friends to the movies. Seriously it cost me fifteen dollars! I would have taken my stuffed animal collection, but none of them wanted to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2.) So folks, get off of your couch this week and go to the theater and catch a showing of the Fifth Wave, I promise you will only be moderately disappointed.

This film is rated PG-13 for violence and destruction, some sci-fi thematic elements, language and brief teen partying.