The 5th Wave

We have seen a plethora of apocalyptic type films in the past, if fact Hollywood has a fascination with them, so much so that many have spawned franchises: "Planet of the Apes", the "Divergent" series, "The Hunger Games" to mention a few. So, why not add "The 5th Wave" to that ever growing list of the apocalyptic films  which has practically become its own genre.

Four waves have caused increasingly lethal situations, created by deadly aliens which humans have nick-named 'others', have left most of the Earth decimated. Against a backdrop of fear and mistrust, a lot created by the U.S. Army headed up by Colonel Vosch (Liev Schreiber), Cassie Sullivan (Chloe Grace Moretz) is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother, Sam (Zackary Arthur), whom he became separated from Cassie along the way. As she and friend, Ben Parish or 'Zombie' (Nick Robinson) as he's nick-named, prepares for the inevitable fifth wave, Cassie also teams up with a young man, Evan Walker (Alex Roe) who may become her final hope.

Others to round out the cast are Maria Bello as Sergeant  Reznik, Ron Livingston as Oliver Sullivan, Cassie's father, Maggie Siff as Lisa Sullivan, Cassie's mother, Parker Wierling as Jeremy, Gabriela Lopez as Lizbeth, Cassie's best friend, Matthew Zuk as Wounded Man with Crucifix and Bailey Anne Borders as Julia.

This was credibly directed by J Blakeson ("The Disappearance of Alice Creed" '09) plus shorts. Although this filmmaker doesn't have a ton of experience in the director's chair, this was remarkably well helmed as there were many different factions up for consideration that one would be responsible for in a production of this size. Truly a seasoned director wouldn't have as a difficult problem with the logistics of a budget this size, but this filmmaker handled it with such ease that it surprised me. It was written by Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner based on the novel by Rick Yancey. Certainly the first two writers listed are quite the seasoned writers, whereas Pinkner isn't as seasoned, but even knowing this information, it was written better than the trailer had depicted. Both Goldsman and Grant have experience in writing apocalyptic type of films, "Divergent", "Insurgent", "I Am Legend", etc., so this was undoubtedly familiar ground for them, but now I'm wondering what they will come up with for the next installment. Com'on, there will have to be a franchise brewing here by the way it left its audience. As long as this makes money, and I predict it will, the franchise 'ca ching' gravy train has been born. This flowed much better than I ever dreamt it would, but only because of the writers involved here and for Moretz's performance. Hers and Roe's performance were amazingly real considering the type of film. The visual effects predominantly designed by Method Studios, Scanline VFX and Shade VFX were seamless which makes it a must see on the large screen.

If you're into Hollywood franchise series type films, this is a sure winner, however if something more thought-provoking, cerebral is your cup of tea, why on earth would you even bother wanting to go see this film. This is a great, entertaining, pure escapism film. Get it? Break out the popcorn!

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                Rated: PG-13                                 112mins.