The 5th Wave

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The 5th Wave

PG-13

2016

1h 52m

Sci-Fi

Adventure

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

16%

Tomatometer

141 Reviews

38%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

The human race stands on the brink of extinction as a series of alien attacks decimate the planet, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and disease. Separated from her family, Ohio teenager Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) will do whatever it takes to reunite with her brother Sam. Fate leads her to form an alliance with Evan Walker (Alex Roe), a mysterious young man who may be her last hope. Forced to trust each other, Cassie and Evan fight for survival during the fifth assault from the invaders.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Aug 16, 2016

1.5/4

With a terrific cast and a director who at least is making an attempt to shake up the literary dystopian status quo, there's really no reason for this one to be as outright terrible as it ultimately proves to be.

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Roxana Hadadi

Chesapeake Family Magazine

Aug 2, 2016

1.5/5

The 5th Wave is simultaneously boring and cringingly overwrought, with a bland protagonist, a completely nonsensical story, and another teen love triangle.

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Udita Jhunjhunwala

Scroll.in

Jun 21, 2016

The 5th Wave, which has echoes of Divergent and The Hunger Games, both of which have strong female protagonists, is too obviously just the introductory chapter.

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David Griffiths

Subculture Entertainment

Oct 29, 2024

3.5/5

The 5th Wave is a good action sci-fi that has a little more bite than some would predict. Easy-to-warm-to-characters and an interesting storyline means the audience quickly feels part of this new world

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Oct 13, 2024

2/5

No one is going to take tactical gear-wearing, elementary school-age kids with pretend-intimidating codenames and armed with semi-automatic weapons seriously.

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Joe Lipsett

Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr Podcast

Jun 18, 2024

2/5

Despite featuring likeable actors like Grace-Moretz and Robinson, the film adaptation of Rick Yancey's novel has no time for anything. There's a propulsive need to barrel forward, but nothing lands (characters, plot, not even action).

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David H

@rivrocks Jul 27, 2026

Not much to sink your teeth into. Nothing particularly bad. Just nothing particularly good.

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CJ O

@Cjoneill1 Jul 20, 2026

I loved it, would watch again wish they had enough money for another.

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Ian R

@RT23899272 Jun 2, 2026

A better film than I expected after reading reviews. The premise has been done to death in other movies, but this isn't a hard science fiction film. Plenty of the acting is terrible but Chloe Grace Moretz carries the plot well enough to keep you interested.

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G W

@Tonopah May 31, 2026

Some interesting twists on the usual dystopian sci-fi genre. A couple truly surprising plot twists, but a couple absolute nonsense plot holes. I liked it but didn't love it.

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Soaraia B

@RT17644618 May 31, 2026

Always fun to rewatch it and being team Evan

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Martina P

@AuthenticM Feb 21, 2026

Cassie & Ewan 🥰💞 I would like to see them happy together, with Sam. Thank you for this great movie!

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J Blakeson

Director

Chloë Grace Moretz

Cassie Sullivan

Nick Robinson

Ben Parish

Ron Livingston

Oliver Sullivan

Maggie Siff

Lisa Sullivan

Alex Roe

Evan Walker

The 5th Wave: Official Clip - Shot in the Leg

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Synopsis

The human race stands on the brink of extinction as a series of alien attacks decimate the planet, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and disease. Separated from her family, Ohio teenager Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) will do whatever it takes to reunite with her brother Sam. Fate leads her to form an alliance with Evan Walker (Alex Roe), a mysterious young man who may be her last hope. Forced to trust each other, Cassie and Evan fight for survival during the fifth assault from the invaders.

Director: J Blakeson
Producer: Tobey Maguire, Graham King, Matthew Plouffe, Lynn Harris
Screenwriter: Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: GK Films, Material Pictures
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Brief Teen Partying|Some Sci-Fi Thematic Elements|Violence and Destruction)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 22, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.9M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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