A would-be franchise starter in need of a GPS
The first two decades of the 2000’s seem to suffer from the inability for movie studios to recognize their patterns of failed behavior. Many have foregone original materials, hoping instead to capitalize on the popularity of a standout book or comic. This is very similar to music studios, many of whom no longer try to publish an artist’s well-paced and well-written albums. Instead, they shoot for 10 chances at a Number 1 hit. We’ve seen the success model. Harry Potter and The Hunger Games bloomed into huge franchises, earning their studios billions in box office, merchandise, and apparel. Those are the home runs that Hollywood has been chasing. More often than not the result is either a one-and-done (I Am Number Four), a good film with a weaker sequel (Percy Jackson), or the rare bird that gets a 3rd film, but one that goes out with a whimper instead of a bang (Allegiant.) The 5th Wave fits among the one-and-done category, and it does so for three key reasons.
The story
Based on the novel by Rick Yancey, with a screenplay written by Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner, this movie is a tale of two halves. The first half is set up by an alien invasion in a full-on War of the Worlds style. The aliens have introduced a virus and with each wave of its release, humans scramble for survival, desperate for resources and information as their numbers dwindle. This continues right until about the halfway mark, where Cassie Sullivan (Chloe Grace Moretz), her father Oliver (Ron Livingston) and brother Sam (Zackary Arthur) are among the members of a survival camp. One day, an army contingent led by Colonel Vosch (Live Schreiber) visits the compound. The army soldiers round up the children (for safety) and tell all the adults to meet for a briefing. Separating the adults from the children goes horribly wrong, and Cassie is left on her own to try and find her way to the military base and rescue her brother. For the most part, it’s Independence Day meets I Am Legend…until it’s not. Cassie is injured, nursed to health and gets introduced to someone who wants to help. This turns the back half of the movie into a “will they/won’t they” love story. (A sex scene was reportedly cut from the movie, which is all the better since it’s completely unnecessary and feels intrusive.) The love interest, Evan (Alex Roe), becomes a trope machine, opening up his heart while also magically showing up at the last possible second to save Cassie multiple times.
The ending
Here’s where the film falls right into the studio trap. There isn’t an ending to the story beyond just setting up the next film. Nothing is resolved. The aliens aren’t defeated. It’s even unresolved if Cassie winds up in a romantic relationship at all, much less with whom. This was the same problem with I Am Number Four and Mortal Instruments. “We’ll get ‘em next time” is an unsatisfactory close for the viewers who just spent 112 minutes watching what amounts to nothing more than an origin story.
The content
Big franchises work largely because they appeal to adults as much as to children. That’s certainly the formula for everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that studio has had very few misses. If a story is written just to appeal to teens, the studio creates a difficult path to monetary success. Kids don’t have the spending power of their parents, for the most part. Make a film that both will enjoy, and it becomes more than just a 1+1. Parents will be heavily invested in opportunities to create special moments with their children over and over again. My father and brother and I still never miss the chance to attend the premier of a new James Bond movie.
Conclusion
The 5th Wave feels like a movie that hit a fork in the road and just split the vehicle in two. It goes for action franchise starter but also young adult romance. It winds up not quite hitting the mark with either effort. The acting isn’t bad. The story’s just thin and the “aliens” are never quite threatening, even when they’re revealed.