The 5th Wave has received very mixed reviews so I went into it prepared for it to be terrible. In places it is pretty bad but there is also a lot to like about it. Chloe Grace-Moretz and Nick Robinson are very good and their characters (although not particularly deep) are very likable, probably thanks to the actors. The first 30 minutes was very entertaining although at times it felt a little rushed. Maybe this would have worked well as a TV series. Anyway after a particularly interesting plot twist at the half hour mark the film's pace completely grinds to a halt and becomes a soppy teen romance like Twilight for the middle portion of the film. And suddenly Grace-Moretz's character becomes the least interesting thing in the film for a while. Nick Robinson then has to carry the film for half an hour which he just about manages in spite of an endless 'wave' of movie clichés (think Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent etc) that come thick and fast. There are also a number of long scenes filmed in the dark where it's really difficult to see anything. At times it's like listening to a radio play because you can't see much at all. Towards the end the tension ramps up nicely in a few places, so even though it looks like there wasn't much of a budget (some scenes look horribly cheap) the director did get me on the edge of my seat. I haven't read the novel that this is based on but you can tell that the source material is good because there are some decent surprises here. Liev Shrieber adds weight to every scene he is in even though he doesn't have lots to do.
Overall I think this could have been better received if 20 minutes in the middle had been chopped out along with some of the tiresome clichés that blight these types of movies. But those twenty minutes or so (and the clichés) that I disliked were clearly aimed at the teenage girl demographic rather than sci-fi and action fans. If a sequel does get commissioned I would probably watch it because I did enjoy this more than any of the Hunger Games movies (I'm probably in a minority there though) and it was better than all bar the first Twilight movie. This film is worth your time unless you really can't stand the teen romance parts.
Overall I think this could have been better received if 20 minutes in the middle had been chopped out along with some of the tiresome clichés that blight these types of movies. But those twenty minutes or so (and the clichés) that I disliked were clearly aimed at the teenage girl demographic rather than sci-fi and action fans. If a sequel does get commissioned I would probably watch it because I did enjoy this more than any of the Hunger Games movies (I'm probably in a minority there though) and it was better than all bar the first Twilight movie. This film is worth your time unless you really can't stand the teen romance parts.