sábado, 23 de janeiro de 2016

The 5th Wave review: 'the apocalypse by numbers'

Chloë Grace Moretz battles Young Adult alien overlords in this uneventful Mockingjay-lite
An alien invasion brings the world to a near-standstill in The 5th Wave, the latest book-to-screen adaptation – think The Hunger Games meets Body Snatchers – hoping to sow the seeds of a budding franchise. Rick Yancey’s source novel already has a sequel, with a third instalment on the way.
Meanwhile, Chloë Grace Moretz, who had a hit with 2014’s teen weepie If I Stay, wants a bit of that Jennifer Lawrence stardust to rub off. She’s done Carrie, now steps into the shoes of Ohio teenager Cassie, short for Cassiopeia, the constellation named after a vain queen tied to her chair in the heavens.
There’s a problem, though. The apocalypse, in its effect on Cassie, mainly takes the form of a been-there, done-that checklist of Young Adult story tropes, and none of these are very scary or original, or bode very well. Disposable parents? Yep. Awkward school crush? Naturally. Do we get The Other Guy – the older, hunkier one, who will hasten Cassie into womanhood by stripping off and flaunting his washboard stomach? You bet we do.
Most of humanity may have been wiped out by a series of ruthless, remote-controlled global catastrophes, but our heroine’s dating prospects suddenly look a lot more tasty.
Even the game of spot-the-alien – à la Snatchers, they take human form – is rendered far too guessable by the distractingly bizarre hair and lipstick of a certain supporting player. While Cassie crawls around forests ogling The Other Guy (British import Alex Roe), her younger brother and awkward school crush (Jurassic World’s Nick Robinson, playing a boy nicknamed “Zombie”) are both whisked off to a military compound, and there trained to spot the difference between actual humans and pod people.
Chloe Grace Moretz in The 5th Wave



Here the movie strays into very Mockingjay territory, flashing big warning signs about trusting whatever yarn the authorities are spinning you. But the remaining twists lack surprise, or even much energy. It becomes clear that director J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), making his Hollywood debut, has used up most of his budget on the tidal waves and plane crashes in the opening movement: the second half is all campfire chatter and sudden bits of scurrying.
You generally get the feeling that the most attractive characters of fanciable age will be likely to pull through. And whatever hairstylist Moretz is using to get that perfect, chicly tousled, end-of-the-world look just right? They’re the closest thing to a messiah

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