The Fifth Wave: Movie Review

WARNING: Spoilers May Be Ahead

There's really nothing I love more than books except life itself, Disney, and going to the theater as often as possible to check out some new flicks. I also really love seeing specifically action films during the cold months, I don't really know why though. It could be just because it's exciting and makes me forget that I'm cold when things are blowing up every five seconds. Anyway, I read The Fifth Wave about a year or two ago and I wasn't all that impressed by it and didn't really understand why everyone was raving about it. I didn't think it was bad, it was just okay. I read quite a lot of sci-fy so it's a bit hard for me to be impressed by another alien/military/survival story. Regardless, I felt like I shouldn't give up on the series just yet before seeing the movie. I literally just now got home from the theater and I'm very excited to be writing this review for you guys, but for other reasons.

PROS:

1. Action

The movie is surprisingly faster paced than the book itself. Not a lot happens in the book and it's faster paced scenes are too drawn out for it to be as exciting as it could have been. However, I loved that the movie added a lot more intensity to the scenes, you know with all the bullets flying, kids going into war and all that jazz. Because most of the action takes place in Ben's POV, the movie wasted no time when it came to building up his character and story-line just like the book did but at a bit of a faster tempo. The movie is more exciting because of that and they were my favorite parts of the movie. 

2. Plot

The whole plot of The Fifth Wave is that aliens have officially invaded earth and are for some reason not making contact or even giving a reason for their mayhem, which is what drew me to the book in the first place. Aliens? Guns? Lots of 'what the heck; moments? That never gets old. The movie stayed pretty much even with the plot of the book, which was nice considering the trend with book-to-screen adaptations is to NOT follow the plot at all and do its own thing. I really liked that the movie didn't stray from the whole point of the aliens gearing up for who knows what. I'm not going to lie, I was not at all impressed with the trailer for this movie because it seemed that it wasn't going to follow the story but I'm happy to say that it kept a lot of the book in and only took out parts that I'm happy were skipped over since it wouldn't have added anything to the movie. 

That's pretty much all I liked about the movie sadly. I did like about half of the cast when it came to Ben, Sam, Teacup, and Ringer. But that's about it. I'm not a big Chloe Grace fan and I had no idea who any of the other people were so I can't say much about their performances.

CONS:

1. Romance

I'm not going to lie to you guys, I hate romance when it comes to survival books. I don't know what it is about the whole romance/end-of-the-world type thing but it always feels so forced and really cheesy. And this movie was no exception. I didn't like the romance in the book and now I pretty much hate it after seeing the movie. I thought the romance should've been toned down immensely in the movie, and it seemed that it was at first. But then you throw in a couple of Nicholas Sparks type lines and a scene that could've been taken straight out of Twilight and you pretty much have the romance in the movie. Throw in the fact that there was absolutely no build-up whatsoever and it was kind of like 'hey, sorry I shot you but I love you, okay, cool.'. 

2. POV's

My favorite character from the book/movie was Ben and Sam. I thought Ben's part of the story was so much more interesting considering he's actually at the army base and being trained along with his unit to go in and hunt down the enemies. During his time at the base, he meets Sam and pretty much takes him under his wing. I loved Ben's parts in the movie and book because you find out a lot of what's really going on with the aliens invading and what the fifth wave actually is or might be. Secrets are exposed, revelations made and once Ben figures it all out for himself, he takes action in fighting for what's right. I think the entire book would've been so much greater had Ben been the main character. I think it would've made an even more interesting adaptation instead of following Cassie who didn't really do anything to contribute to fighting back against the enemies. But that's just my personal opinion on things. 

  

Overall, this movie was an okay watch for me, definitely not something I'd see again or buy on DVD. I'd say that if you loved the book, you might want to watch out when it comes to seeing the movie and it really all depends on how much of it you can take. I personally didn't like the book so I was bound to be disappointed with the movie.

If you haven't read the book or didn't know it was a book and are considering seeing the movie, just know that it isn't that great of a movie on it's own. There are a couple of plot holes that I assume are later filled in the sequel of the book and may I remind you that it does get really cheesy at some points in the movie. Basically, take your chance on it and decide for yourself if you love it or hate it.

I hope you guys enjoyed this movie review! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!