The 5th Wave
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: January 22, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
11
Negative:
17
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
USA TodayBrian TruittJan 21, 2016
The 5th Wave finds a way to make the most of Moretz’s talents, with the emotionality she showed in If I Stay and the utter physical chutzpah of her Kick-Ass films. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 28, 2016
The storyline is generic apocalyptic science fiction and feels a lot like an uninspired fusion of "Independence Day" and the TV mini-series “V”. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyClark CollisJan 21, 2016
The frankly preposterous nature of the film’s setup is rendered slightly less so by a couple of second act reveals. But, by then, many viewers will have lost interest in a movie with a very high bodycount but a very small amount of grit, either emotional or literal. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJan 21, 2016
Aside from a taste for Visual Storytelling 101 basics (a close-up of a dropped teddy bear, held for what seems like half a minute), British director J Blakeson (The Disappearance Of Alice Creed) doesn’t do much to distinguish himself from any number of hired guns. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterHarry WindsorJan 14, 2016
Director J Blakeson...might be making franchise bait but he exhibits a relatively restrained reliance on spectacle, and the screenplay by Jeff Pinkner, Susannah Grant and Akiva Goldsman is light on the aphoristic earnestness that bogged down the most recent Hunger Games, or last year’s Goldsman-penned Insurgent. Read full review
50
VarietyEddie CockrellJan 14, 2016
Enough of Yancey’s ambitious narrative has made the final cut to reflect an arrestingly original spin on trendy genre tropes. Read full review
42
The PlaylistNick SchagerJan 21, 2016
Moretz strikes a convincing empowered-badass pose but has no amount of charismatic fearsomeness can energize the illogical latter portions of The 5th Wave, which are driven by revelations about the aliens that, to put it bluntly, make no sense. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 23, 2016
It’s written to a machine-tooled formula, with two more episodes naturally planned to gouge cash out of the fanbase, and whatever interest this film has dies about five minutes before the closing credits. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 23, 2016
For all the goodwill generated by its early scenes, by the time The 5th Wave lumbers to its conclusion, you realize you’re not watching a movie but an act of crisis management. Read full review
40
TimeStephanie ZacharekJan 23, 2016
Moretz gives the movie whatever warmth it has, though not even she can give it a real pulse. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinJan 21, 2016
Director J Blakeson can't quite maintain the film's momentum while squaring its disparate parts, malleable story rules (weren't all power sources destroyed?), hokey dialogue and a crisscross of often one-note emotions. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyJan 21, 2016
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. Read full review
40
EmpireOlly RichardsJan 18, 2016
Everything that comes after the confident, dangerous first half-hour just makes you pine for what could have been as this devolves into ten-a-penny teen-lit sludge. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJan 23, 2016
Topical ideas on humanity, mistrust and alien-as-immigrant metaphors are a plus, but a laughable romance and a ridiculous wrap-up render the film as only a staging ground for the next two parts of the trilogy to come. Read full review
38
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJan 23, 2016
This picture stands as the best argument yet that the YA dystopia cycle has passed its sell-by date. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJan 22, 2016
The 5th Wave is Dystopia-Lite. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineEric HendersonJan 22, 2016
The sense that children’s attitudes toward rampant militarization are being gradually normalized is the film's objectionable given. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTom RussoJan 21, 2016
It’s tough to stay focused on the provocative bits when soapy talk of teenage yearning and angst keep making us snicker. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 20, 2016
It’s all so obvious and (unintentionally) laugh-out-loud funny...Seriously, if you’re not five steps ahead of The Fifth Wave, you need to have yourself tested. Read full review
33
ConsequenceAllison ShoemakerJan 23, 2016
Blakeson and screenwriters Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinkner don’t seem to care much about telling the story. They’re just checking off the boxes. Read full review
32
The VergeTasha RobinsonJan 21, 2016
The action is frequently too chaotic to register, and the performances are monotonal. There's no personality in this story, or the way it's told. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJan 27, 2016
Given the likely reception to this movie, it’s unlikely there will be a sixth wave anytime soon. Read full review
30
The New YorkerAnthony LaneJan 25, 2016
The whole thing appears to have been designed by some crazed Oedipal wing of the N.R.A. And what are the aliens known as? The Others. I rest my case. Read full review
30
The New York TimesAndy WebsterJan 21, 2016
It’s depressing to see Ms. Moretz — so spirited in “Clouds of Sils Maria” and the “Kick-Ass” movies — reduced to constant mooning at Mr. Roe. Read full review
30
Screen DailySarah WardJan 14, 2016
Like many films designed to double as opening chapters in ongoing screen sagas, The Fifth Wave always feels padded, its focus on establishing a springboard for future sequels rather than satisfactorily exploring its own narrative. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 22, 2016
Despite the strong presence of Kick-Ass star Chloe Grace Moretz as Cassie, the movie is selling the same old YA yada yada yada that made phenoms of "Twilight" and "Divergent." Read full review
25
TheWrapJan 22, 2016
Like a bad orange, this adaptation of the series-spawning novel by Rick Yancey lacks both juice and flavor. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 21, 2016
It has the curse of earnestness. It is so sincere ... it is so sincere it could put you into a coma. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle SmithJan 21, 2016
The undercaffeinated middle of the film consists of dopey twists, slow-burning gazes and dialogue that aims for “heartfelt” but comes out “unfortunate.” Read full review
0
ObserverRex ReedFeb 1, 2016
The 5th Wave is a typical example of the kind of dopey junk that passes for literature among today’s unsophisticated teens. Read full review
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