The Problem With Critical Consensus

'The 5th Wave' is a prime example where a movie of sheer quality and entertainment value is commercially/publicly damaged by an inaccurate critical consensus that completely misses excellence in storytelling

Chloë Grace Moretz preparing for a take in 'The 5th Wave' (CREDIT: Sony/Columbia)

by Jack Linsdell

Believe it or not, film is an artform. And, artistry is subjective because every person will emotionally react to any given art form (in this case, a film) in a different way. Some may completely get it, others not so. And, that's fine. So is being entitled to your own opinion. But, those two things (emotional subjectivity and personal opinion) are the only two elements as to why a given critic will give a film 2/5 stars or a full 5 star review. And, sometimes the critical consensus for a movie is so wrong/negative that it actually hurts the commercial/public reception to said movie. This is not a case of me saying "I like this movie more than you", but rather "these critics can't have been watching the same movie" mantra. 

The movie in question is J. Blakeson's 2016 sci-fi/action-thriller The 5th Wave, based on the best-selling young-adult novel by Rick Yancey. No, I didn't catch it during it's theatrical release, and thus only discovered it on a TV viewing one evening a few years back, to which it has since become one of my personal favourites ever since. But, before I explain why I think it's so good, let me fill you in on how it was received. Released in North America/UK in January 2016 (and then thereafter internationally), it was mostly ignored/panned by critics. It currently holds a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 133 reviews and Metacritic has cited "generally unfavourable reviews". To paraphrase most magazine/TV/newspaper critics who reviewed it at the time of release, The 5th Wave is a film "laden with unimpressive effects, forced plot twists to make a clichéd YA dystopian movie we've seen before". Cue an underwhelming North American debut weekend of $10.3 million, crawling to a "not great" $34.9 million domestic total, although it's robust $75 million international total got it to a very respectable (and profitable) $109.9 million worldwide cume, on a mere $38 budget. So, a key reason why Sony and friends didn't greenlight a sequel (much to my disappointment) was that the box office wasn't big enough to justify one. 

Now, firstly, it's clear that the negative reviews did harm this one as it's obvious general audiences stayed at home because it wasn't depicted in the media as a film worth their time and money of an admission ticket. Yes, this harmed it's commercial performance, especially compared to studio expectations. And, yes, it's $109 million cume was a big comedown from the "big and popular" young-adult/dystopian franchise that was The Hunger Games, which saw grosses in the range of $653-856 million worldwide. Heck, even the less-loved Divergent series made between $179-297 million global totals, so I can understand why there was disappointment from a studio point-of-view. However, it's clear that Sony wanted their own "Hunger Games" and thus that put too much weight on The 5th Wave. We're still talking about a much cheaper movie than those two big YA series (who had budgets above $70 million) that made over $100 million on a $38 million budget. It was very profitable, but thus took a hit because it's reviews hurt it's commercial reception. 

The 5th Wave is exactly the type of "doesn't deserve to be this good" commercial movie that we occasionally get treated to. It's clear that audiences enjoyed this one more than critics. And, this highlights the key issue with critical consensus, that when one is overwhelmingly one-sided, it paints an unjust and inaccurate media/public picture. How a critic can find evidence to support the film is bland, unentertaining and full of forced plot twists baffles me just as much as why The Hate U Give got snubbed at last year's Oscar ceremony. Okay, it's one of my favourite films. However, it's only become one of my favourites due to it's sheer storytelling quality (from an acting, direction, script and score point-of-view) and immense entertainment value. I have no sentimental value or personal bias to the movie beyond it being one of the best examples in modern commercial cinema of sublime storytelling combined with being incredible entertainment. So much so, I'd use it as a fine example to young students/filmmakers of how commercial movies can not just be entertaining popcorn flicks, but character-driven, superbly-written, gritty and emotionally-layered movies.

J. Blakeson offering some pointers behind the scenes on 'The 5th Wave' (CREDIT: Sony/Colombia)

No movie, especially in such genres like the horror or sci-fi can ever get a stamp of originality on it. But, The 5th Wave is a fine example of quality screenwriting, that puts its characters first, with sharp dialogue, relevant action and revealing obvious surprises to hide genuinely thrilling and surprising plot twists. It's also a finely crafted movie in the competent hands of relative filmmaker newcomer J. Blakeson (I hope his next project I Care a Lot which he's written and directed gets better reception). And, with someone as talented as Chloë Grace Moretz in the lead role, the movie was always going to be brilliant anyway. Regular readers know how much I admire Moretz, and although she's had a career of outstanding performances, this is by far her best. It's also a film that although is targeted for the teenage demographic, can be really enjoyed by adults too - I've shown it to many friends who think it's fantastic. 

Furthermore, how can we not mention it's important representation of a female character? Firstly, it's an action movie with a female protagonist at it's centre (a rare thing in this genre). Furthermore, it features the most realistic depiction of a female on-screen (what I call the "strong but vulnerable" representation), as Carrie Sullivan (Moretz) is emotionally/physical strong when needed, but flawed and emotionally vulnerable when effected. And, this could have been a rare female-led action franchise (there are two more books in the series) if audiences had supported the movie more, or if the studio had taken a gamble. Even if you had two sequels made for about $40 million that grossed over $90 million worldwide, it's still a profitable little series that would have done wonders for onscreen representation. Except, now it joins the likes of Atomic Blonde as being an "intended for more but now you're not getting sequels" action flick. 

So, The 5th Wave is an excellent commercial movie and a prime example where a movie can be both a well-told/well-made story and an entertaining Saturday night at the movies. But, it's unjust and shameful negative reception by the critics did harm it's commercial and audience reception, throwing consumers off what was by far one of the best films of 2016. So, if there's one lesson to be learnt, it's this. Read critical reviews, but don't take their words (or mine) as gospel. Make your own decision, folks. Oh...and go and watch The 5th Wave.