The 5th Wave (film)

The 5th Wave

Theatrical release poster
Directed by J Blakeson
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey
Starring
Music by Henry Jackman
Cinematography Enrique Chediak
Edited by Paul Rubell
Production
companies
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • January 22, 2016 (2016-01-22) (United States)
Running time
112 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $35 million[2]
Box office $110.7 million[3]

The 5th Wave is a 2016 American science fiction thriller film, directed by J Blakeson, with a screenplay by Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinkner, based on the novel of the same name by Rick Yancey. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex Roe, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe and Liev Schreiber.

Development began in March 2012, when Sony picked up the film rights to the trilogy, with Graham King's production company GK Films and Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures. Filming took place in Atlanta, Georgia from October 2014 to January 2015.

The 5th Wave was released on January 22, 2016 in the United States by Columbia Pictures. It received negative reviews from critics, but was a box-office success grossing more than $110 million worldwide on a $35 million budget.

Plot

Ohio high-schooler Cassie Sullivan, armed with an M4 carbine, emerges from the woods to raid an abandoned gas station. Upon entering, she hears a male voice calling for help. She finds a wounded man, who points a gun at her, but they each put their weapons down. His hand is under his jacket and as he takes it out, she sees a glint of metal and kills him. He was holding a crucifix and the screen cuts to black to show her backstory.

A city-sized alien spaceship is circling Earth containing extraterrestrials referred to as "The Others." Ten days later, The Others unleash their 1st Wave, an electromagnetic pulse that permanently destroys all electrical power, including vehicles and causing flying aircraft to fall. The 2nd Wave has The Others manipulate the Earth's fault lines, causing earthquakes and tsunamis that kill those living in coastal cities. For the 3rd Wave, The Others weaponize a strain of avian flu, using birds as carriers of the virus killing Cassie's mother.

Cassie, her father and her younger brother, Sam, find a refugee camp in the woods with roughly 300 survivors. A few days later, an army unit with working vehicles rolls into the camp. The unit's commander, Colonel Vosch, claims there is an imminent threat of a 5th Wave and they will take the children to safety at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, intending to bring the buses back to retrieve the adults. Cassie is separated from Sam, and witnesses the adults being massacred by the army.

Cassie scavenges her way toward the base, but is shot in the leg by an unseen enemy and passes out. A week later, she wakes up in the farmhouse of Evan Walker, who saved her. Cassie leaves towards the base with Evan, but learns that he is an Other, sent years ago as a sleeper agent and merged his consciousness into a human host. The sleepers roam their designated zones, killing human survivors. Evan admits his humanity was reactivated when he saw her, disagrees with the invasion and lets her leave. He warns that Colonel Vosch and the military are possessed by the consciousness of individual Others.

At the base, the military have used deception and technology to convince the rescued children that the humans outside the base have been possessed. They provide military training to the children, forming them into squads to go on kill missions outside the base. Sam has been placed into a squad led by Ben, a boy Cassie had a crush on, along with Ringer, a tough teenager, Dumbo and Teacup. While out on a kill mission, Ringer removes her military implant, causing her to register as an Other-possessed human on the squad's scopes. The squad deduces the plan to have them kill real humans, making them the 5th Wave. Ben sends his squad into the woods and returns to base, claiming his squad was killed, for the purpose of retrieving Sam, who was left behind.

Ben confronts Colonel Vosch about child warriors being the 5th Wave and Cassie kills Sergeant Reznik during her one-on-one indoctrination spiel. Ben and Cassie find each other and leave to find Sam. Evan sets off numerous bombs and advises them to quickly find Sam before the destruction of the entire facility. Colonel Vosch and the surviving military evacuate with the human children by military aircraft. Cassie, Ben, and Sam escape, with help from Ringer, just as Evan completes the destruction of the base. Ben's squad is reunited and Cassie ponders the strength of hope as humanity's driving force for survival.

Cast

Production

Development

In March 2012, Columbia Pictures picked up the film rights to the trilogy, with Graham King and Tobey Maguire attached as producers.[4][5] On April 15, 2014, it was officially announced that Chloë Grace Moretz would star as Cassie Sullivan, and that J Blakeson would direct from a script by Susannah Grant.[6][7] From June through August 2014, Nick Robinson and Alex Roe joined the film as male protagonists Ben Parish and Evan Walker, respectively, while Liev Schreiber was cast as the villain.[8][9] Over the following months, Maika Monroe, Zackary Arthur, Tony Revolori, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, and Talitha Bateman joined the film.[10][11][12][13]

Filming

Principal photography began on October 18, 2014, in Atlanta, Georgia.[14][15] Three months later, on January 11, a planned explosion of a bus in downtown Macon, Georgia for the film went awry when it spread wider than planned, blowing out more than forty windows on Cotton Avenue, collapsing ceilings, destroying store fronts, setting one building on fire, and leaving soot on the brick buildings as well. The production company promised to cover all damages caused by the 3:45 am incident, but the work that was done was done badly and remains incomplete sixteen months later.[16][17] Filming officially ended on January 17, 2015.[18]

Music

In April 2015, it was announced that Henry Jackman would compose the music for the film.[19]

Release

Columbia Pictures originally set the film a release date for January 29, 2016.[20] On April 30, 2015, they pushed back the release date this time from January 29, 2016, then to January 15, 2016.[21] However, In December 2015, they pushed back the release date this time from January 15, 2016, then to January 22, 2016.[22][23] It was released on January 14, 2016 in Australia, Germany and the Middle East.[24]

Marketing

An international trailer for the film was released on Sony Pictures' official YouTube account on September 1, 2015.[25]

The film was released for home media on 3 May 2016. The film was released online on various video sites 2 weeks prior to this.

Reception

Box office

As of March 20, 2016, The 5th Wave has grossed $34.8 million in North America and $74.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $109.3 million, against a budget of $38 million.[26]

The film was released in North America on January 22, 2016, alongside Dirty Grandpa and The Boy. The film was projected to gross $10–14 million from 2,908 theaters in its opening weekend.[27] It made $475,000 from its Thursday night screenings and $3.5 million on its first day.[28] It went on to gross $10.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing 6th at the box office.[29] The 5th Wave accumulated a home media revenue of $8,055,845.[30]

Critical response

The 5th Wave received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 8% based on 126 reviews with an average rating of 2.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With unimpressive effects and plot points seemingly pieced together from previous dystopian YA sci-fi films, The 5th Wave ends up feeling like more of a limp, derivative wriggle."[31] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale.[29]

Rob Vaux of the Sci-Fi Movie Page gave the film one star out of five, saying, "The YA adaptation craze hits a low point with this aimless, purposeless alien invasion story that wastes a fine cast."[33] In the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle wrote, "rarely does a movie that fails so utterly start so well", falling apart ahead of the fifth wave. As to a possible trilogy, "if we’re not really vigilant, and look to the skies, and prepare, they’re going to make at least two more of these things. We’ve got to beat back the invasion now".[34] Eddie Cockrell of Variety gave the film a mixed review, saying, "The 5th Wave is an effectively decent post-apocalyptic, young adult, world-in-the-balance survival thriller" with an "arrestingly original spin on trendy genre tropes", although he suggested that fans of the book may have "issues with what has been edited".[35]

Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film a positive review, rating it 1 out of 4 stars, stating that it "is an inviting sci-fi invasion", and praising Moretz and Robinson as "equally strong" co-leads. Shannon Harvey of The West Australian also gave the film a positive review, writing, "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".[36] Michael Patterson of Moviepilot gave the film a positive review, rating it 2 out of 10, and calling it a "thrilling story of survival".[37]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Chloë Grace Moretz Nominated [38]

References

  1. "THE 5TH WAVE (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 20, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  2. Brandon, Nick (January 4, 2016). "TNR: Box Office Flops of 2016 (with Warcraft & Gods of Egypt)".
  3. http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/5th-Wave-The#tab=summary
  4. Vilkomerson, Sara (May 3, 2013). "Book Review: The 5th Wave". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. Dickey, Josh (September 3, 2013). "J Blakeson Set to Direct Sony Young-Adult Sci-Fi Movie "The 5th Wave"". The Wrap. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  6. Marshall, JoJo (April 16, 2014). "Movies Chloe Grace Moretz will be killing aliens in 'The 5th Wave'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  7. Kay, Jeremy (April 15, 2014). "Chloe Grace Moretz to star in alien invasion drama The 5th Wave". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  8. McNary, Dave (June 27, 2014). "Nick Robinson, Alex Roe Join Chloe Moretz in 'The 5th Wave'". Variety. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  9. "Liev Schreiber in Negotiations to Play Villain in Chloe Moretz's 'The 5th Wave'". The Wrap. August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  10. "Maika Monroe Joins Chloe Moretz, Nick Robinson in 'The 5th Wave'". The Wrap. August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  11. Ford, Rebecca (October 21, 2014). "'Sons of Anarchy's' Maggie Siff, 'Hart of Dixie' Actress Join 'The 5th Wave'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  12. Ford, Rebecca (September 15, 2014). "'The 5th Wave' Finds Its Sammy (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  13. Kroll, Justin (September 30, 2014). "'Grand Budapest Hotel' Actor Tony Revolori Joins Sony's 'Fifth Wave'". Variety. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  14. Rae Johnson, Alexa (October 19, 2014). "Chloe Moretz dresses in school uniform as she begins filming hotly anticipated sci-fi drama The 5th Wave". Daily Mail. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  15. Lesnick, Silas (October 23, 2014). "Production Begins on The 5th Wave, Starring Chloe Grace Moretz". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  16. "Movie explosion damages downtown Macon buildings". macon.
  17. "Golden Bough Books Twitter". @edunwody @gafmde @5thWaveMovie we expect gold leafing to start any day now but there's unfinished & substandard work on several storefronts
  18. "'The 5th Wave' Wraps Filming, Chloe Grace Moretz Posts Pics From Set Of Sci-Fi Flick". Fashion&Style. January 17, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  19. "Henry Jackman to Score 'The 5th Wave'". Film Music Reporter. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  20. Orange, B.Alan (July 14, 2014). "'The 5th Wave' Starring Chloe Moretz Gets January 2016 Release Date". MovieWeb. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  21. "#5thWaveMovie is coming… even sooner. See it in theaters January 15, 2016.". Twitter. April 30, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  22. Truitt, Brian (December 17, 2015). "Exclusive excerpt: Rick Yancey's 'The Last Star'". USA Today. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  23. Kiehne, Lawson (December 22, 2015). "'The 5th Wave', 'Monster High' and More Delayed". Youth Independent News. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  24. MA (Psyboyo) (January 22, 2016). "The 5th Wave (2016)". IMDb.
  25. "The 5th Wave Movie - International Sneak Peek". Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  26. "The 5th Wave (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  27. "'Revenant' Hunts #1 Amid Newcomers, '5th Wave', 'The Boy' and 'Dirty Grandpa'". boxofficemojo.com.
  28. "Box Office Thursday Late Nights: 'Dirty Grandpa' Knocks In $660K, 'The Fifth Wave' Crashes In With $475K". deadline.com.
  29. 1 2 "'The Revenant' No. 1, 'Ride Along' Skids On Ice". deadline.com.
  30. http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/5th-Wave-The#tab=video-sales
  31. "The 5th Wave (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  32. "The 5th Wave reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  33. "The 5th Wave — Movie Review". Sci-Fi Movie Page.
  34. LaSalle, Mick (January 21, 2016). "The 5th Wave: At least the apocalypse starts well". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  35. Eddie Cockrell. "'The 5th Wave' Review: A Decent Adaptation of Rick Yancey's Novel - Variety". Variety.
  36. "The 5th Wave too familiar to be thrilling. - The West Australian".
  37. Michael Patterson (January 23, 2016). "The 5th Wave: A Thrilling Story of Survival!". moviepilot.com.
  38. Vulpo, Mike (May 24, 2016). "Teen Choice Awards 2016 Nominations Announced: See the "First Wave" of Potential Winners". E!. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.

External links

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