The 5th Wave
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
What critics thought
Nearly every critic found The 5th Wave to be a shameless patchwork of Twilight, Hunger Games, and Divergent, with little of its own identity to offer. The handful of positive notices praised Chloë Grace Moretz's lead performance and some production craft, but the majority found the plotting mechanical and the dialogue borrowed wholesale from better films. The few defenders and the majority of detractors don't really disagree about what the film is — they just weigh its modest competence differently.
“Every plot turn and every line of dialogue has been borrowed from somewhere else, and everything is utterly, totally predictable”
Jeffrey M. Anderson·The San Francisco Examiner
“a marketing wheeze dressed up as an art form, and stupendously summarized by the image of Cassie hurrying through the woods carrying both an assault rifle and a Teddy bear”
Anthony Lane·The New Yorker
“rarely does a movie that fails so utterly start so well”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“The 5th Wave is an effectively decent post-apocalyptic, young adult, world-in-the-balance survival thriller”
Eddie Cockrell·Variety
“It's actually got a lot going for it, from acting prodigy Chloe Grace Moretz as the kind of tough but fragile heroine you can cheer for to handsome production values, several plot twists”
Shannon Harvey·The West Australian
Genres
Science Fiction, Adventure, Action
Cast & Crew
J BlakesonDirector
Chloë Grace MoretzCassie Sullivan
Nick RobinsonBen Parish / Zombie
Ron LivingstonOliver Sullivan
Maggie SiffLisa Sullivan
Alex RoeEvan Walker
Maria BelloSergeant Reznik
Maika MonroeRinger
Zackary ArthurSam Sullivan
Liev SchreiberColonel Vosch
Tony RevoloriDumbo
Talitha Eliana BatemanTeacup
Nadji JeterPoundcake
Henry JackmanComposer
Susannah GrantWriter
Akiva GoldsmanWriter
Jeff PinknerWriter
Enrique ChediakCinematographyThe 5th Wave
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
What critics thought
Nearly every critic found The 5th Wave to be a shameless patchwork of Twilight, Hunger Games, and Divergent, with little of its own identity to offer. The handful of positive notices praised Chloë Grace Moretz's lead performance and some production craft, but the majority found the plotting mechanical and the dialogue borrowed wholesale from better films. The few defenders and the majority of detractors don't really disagree about what the film is — they just weigh its modest competence differently.
“Every plot turn and every line of dialogue has been borrowed from somewhere else, and everything is utterly, totally predictable”
Jeffrey M. Anderson·The San Francisco Examiner
“a marketing wheeze dressed up as an art form, and stupendously summarized by the image of Cassie hurrying through the woods carrying both an assault rifle and a Teddy bear”
Anthony Lane·The New Yorker
“rarely does a movie that fails so utterly start so well”
Mick LaSalle·San Francisco Chronicle
“The 5th Wave is an effectively decent post-apocalyptic, young adult, world-in-the-balance survival thriller”
Eddie Cockrell·Variety
“It's actually got a lot going for it, from acting prodigy Chloe Grace Moretz as the kind of tough but fragile heroine you can cheer for to handsome production values, several plot twists”
Shannon Harvey·The West Australian
Genres
Science Fiction, Adventure, Action
Cast & Crew
J BlakesonDirectorChloë Grace MoretzCassie SullivanNick RobinsonBen Parish / ZombieRon LivingstonOliver SullivanMaggie SiffLisa SullivanAlex RoeEvan WalkerMaria BelloSergeant ReznikMaika MonroeRingerZackary ArthurSam SullivanLiev SchreiberColonel VoschTony RevoloriDumboTalitha Eliana BatemanTeacupNadji JeterPoundcakeHenry JackmanComposerSusannah GrantWriterAkiva GoldsmanWriterJeff PinknerWriterEnrique ChediakCinematography