The 5th Wave is the newest YA series on the block [Review]

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By Melanie Leung
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By Melanie Leung |
Published: 
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Last year we saw the grand finale of the Hunger Games; and with the Divergent and Maze Runner series drawing to a close, it's about time for a new popular young adult science fiction novel to dominate cinema.

Based on Rick Yancey's book, The 5th Wave tells of an alien invasion to wipe out humanity. By this stage, the "others" are trying to kill off the remaining humans.

Cassie Sullivan (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a 16-year-old desperate to find her little brother, who was taken to a military camp. Though she is wary of trusting anybody, she accepts help from fellow survivor, Evan Walker (Alex Roe).

Although less visually spectacular, The 5th Wave is a gripping film that feels less surreal compared to other dystopian series.

Cassie is identifiable as a normal highschooler who isn't a "chosen one" with special abilities; she can't even fight.

But the others are bland and uninteresting; tough girl Ringer (Maika Monroe) and squad leader Ben (Nick Robinson) aren't as cool as Divergent's Dauntless gang.

The 5th Wave lays solid groundwork as the first film of a trilogy, but we need to wait until Yancey finishes the remaining novels to see how interesting this series will be.

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