The 5th Wave ... Kids rock the world

THE 5th Wave, directed by J. Blakeson and based on a book by Rick Yancey, shows the tepid transformation of pretty blonde cheerleader Cassie Sullivan, from a teen interested in parties and boys to a rebel leader who makes handsome guys melt in her hand.
   Aliens, a.k.a. The Others, hover above Earth, destroying it with earthquakes, tsunamis and avian-borne diseases, and blocking off the energy supply for humans. No one's seen them, and humans wait with bated breath for the Fifth Wave, the attack that will wipe out Earth's population.


   Cassie, whose room is spotless amid all the destruction outside, leaves home with her father Oliver (Ron Livinsgston) and brother Sam (Zackary Arthur). Her doctor mum died in one of the earlier waves.
   They get to a refugee camp, but the army under Colonel Vosch (Liev Schreiber) wants to send kids and teens to a military base for better protection, while holding back the adults for a briefing.
  We get of hint of what's to come when Cassie, who doesn't want to be separated from her family, asks why it's necessary to follow orders just because a person of authority gave it.
  In the commotion, Sam is transported to the camp without her, while the father is shepherded to a barn, where Vosch tells the crowd that the army believes that The Others have taken the form of humans and control them.
   All hell breaks lose, and a confused and frightened Cassie runs for her life. Thus begins her journey

I've got your back.

to find her kid  brother and return his teddy bear to him. Helping her on her quest in handsome farmboy stranger Evan Walker (Alex Roe), whose pretty eyes hide a secret.
   The abducted kids, meanwhile, are trained as child soldiers by Vosch, who has an insidious plan up his sleeve.
  Watching the kids train to be killers is disconcerting, but watching Ben Parish (Brooklyn Becker lookalike Nick Robinson of Jurassic World) spar with spunky Julia (Bailey Ann Borders with too much mascara) shows that the kids have what it takes to survive in a brave new world.
   The film's surprise ending will make every kid question authority, especially those who brandish weapons.
   It's rare to see a Hollywood film ask kids to challenge authority, but in the film's world, all the

 adults are either dead or untrustworthy. And when you see Maria Bello as a heavily made-up army officer, that will turn you off the army for the rest of your life.
   Moretz reminds viewers of Farrah Fawcett. She keeps her clothes on in this film and has a romantic interlude. Her flaw is that she can't fully show the journey of a shallow teen to a rebel leader.

3 out of 5 stars

 
   

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