The world is being invaded by aliens causing increasingly deadly attacks and those left alive don’t know who to trust. When Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) is separated from her little brother Sam (Zackary Arthur), she’ll do anything to get him back.

The 5th Wave is the big screen adaptation of the YA book of the same name by Rick Yancey. I read the book a few years ago and really enjoyed it, though I wasn’t a fan of the sequel and I have yet to get around to reading the final book in the trilogy, so I was interested in seeing this adaptation.

Chloë Grace Moretz is brilliant at Cassie. She has to carry pretty much the majority of the film and she does a great job, especially the scenes with Zackary Arthur, they really sell their sibling relationship. Cassie is an interesting character because she’s had to grow up a lot but she’s still a teenager whose whole world has completely changed. When she meets Evan (Alex Roe) she’s in need of help but that doesn’t mean she wants to accept it.

There is naturally a romance angle in The 5th Wave, it’s not terrible but there’s not exactly sparkling chemistry between Cassie and her love interest.

The film is a bit disjointed when it stops solely following Cassie and then introduces Ben (Nick Robinson) as a main character. Ben’s brought into the army led by Colonel Vosch (Liev Schreiber) and there he, along with hundreds of other kids, is trained to kill the aliens, or as they call them the Others. His side of the story is interesting though a little predictable, even if you haven’t read the book.

The 5th Wave is a decent adaptation while still being an interesting and sometimes exciting sci-fi film. It does drag at times and is a little cheesy, but the fights and shootouts are generally quite good. 3/5.