Four waves of hostilities from alien forces (known as ‘The Others’) have reduced Earth’s population to a small group of fearful survivors on the run from the enemy who now roam the country, in human form, picking the survivors off one by one. In The 5th Wave’s sharp and nihilistic prologue, and a horrifying sequence set in a refugee camp, we learn just how impossible it has become to trust anyone you meet anymore, and it is this environment of absolute suspicion and paranoia that provides The 5th Wave with a strong dramatic core.
Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) is your all-American College sweetheart, with a crush on football star Ben Parish (Jurassic World’s Nick Robinson). Cassie adores her little brother Sam (Zackary Arthur), and when they find themselves separated and alone in the face of the fifth wave of alien aggression, Cassie must do all she can to be reunited with Sam in the hope that they will be among the planet’s few survivors.
While she is certainly no Jennifer Lawrence, Moretz (Dark Shadows, Let Me In), who is rarely off-screen, handles the demanding leading role extremely well. She receives strong support from Robinson and Alex Roe, whose forest-dwelling Evan Walker might not be the heroic rescuer he, at first, appears to be.
Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), having polished off Earth’s decimation from the first four waves of hostility with some moderately impressive special effects, is obviously more interested in the human consequences. And while it certainly suffers by comparison to similarly-themed films such as The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner, The 5th Wave wins points for focussing on the resourceful young Cassie’s determination that trust, instinct, fearlessness, and the all-powerful connection with family, may eventually win the day.
This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.
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