Remember the 2010s, when it seemed like almost every week, a new dystopian movie based on a young-adult (or YA) novel hit theatres?
The competition to be the next “Hunger Games” was intense, and while there were a few winners like “The Maze Runner,” there were also an awful lot of losers. “The 5th Wave” falls into the latter category.
Released in 2016, it was a modest box office success, but didn’t reach the heights the distributor, Sony, had hoped, as a sequel never followed (despite there being two more books in the series). To be honest, it’s a movie I haven’t thought about in almost a decade. So, I was a little surprised to see it making serious waves now that it’s arrived on Netflix.
The movie arrived on the world’s most popular streaming service in its first wave of new content for August, and just a few days later and it’s already climbing the platform’s top 10 most-watched list. It currently ranks in the No. 8 spot, but I could rise even higher in the days ahead.
But underneath the hooky premise, there’s an extremely generic quality to “The 5th Wave” that saw it struggle to stand out in an overcrowded genre. So, if you’re considering adding this sci-fi movie to your Netflix watchlist, here are all the details you need to help make your decision.
What is ‘The 5th Wave’ about?
Based on the best-selling novel by Rick Yancey, “The 5th Wave” takes place on an Earth that has been left devastated by an alien invasion carried out in four waves.
The first attack disabled all electricity and communication devices, the next created devastating natural disasters, the third spread a deadly strain of bird flu, and the fourth saw humans mind-controlled to kill each other.
With fear spreading of a fifth (and final) wave on the way, Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a teenager trying to survive in this new world, and most importantly, be reunited with her younger brother (Zackary Arthur), who is being housed on a military base.
To find her brother, she’s forced to ally with a mysterious young man, Evan Walker (Alex Roe). But in a world where hostile aliens hide in plain sight, Cassie may not be able to trust anybody she encounters, and the truth of the impending fifth wave might prove to be humanity's end.
Should you stream ‘The 5th Wave’ on Netflix
There’s a lot on the surface that I like about “The 5th Wave.” I think the core concept of an alien invasion hitting the planet in four, increasingly deadly, waves is a fantastic setup, and the paranoia that grips the movie’s cast due to the mystery fifth wave adds a sense of mystery.
The movie opens particularly strongly, after a quick introduction to Cassie, and the current state of the world (spoilers: things aren’t looking good for humanity), the flick jumps to an extended flashback to the invasion being carried out and the first four waves. You’ll have to forgive some truly awful CGI in parts, but otherwise, it’s an excellent starting point.
The problem is that after this compelling intro, the movie doesn’t seem to have any further original ideas of its own. Instead, the following two acts play out like a greatest hits collection of YA genre beats. There are all the expected tropes, from our heroine slowly morphing from frightened survivor to capable action hero, and of course, there’s a snappy romance as well. Naturally, there are two love interests for Cassie to consider, with Nick Robinson's Ben Thomas thrown into the mix alongside Alex Roe's Evan.
I suppose you could give the third act some credit for attempting some big swings, but things get increasingly messy as the finale approaches. What starts as an enjoyable mystery (what is the fifth wave?) becomes more of an exercise in nonsensical storytelling.
“The 5th Wave” also feels frustratingly small-scale, considering it’s about an alien force invading the planet. Most of the movie takes place in the woodlands of Ohio, and while I assume this was for budgetary reasons, it does mean that you never get the full scope of this dystopian future. We’re constantly told that Earth has been devastated, but we don’t see it.
The movie also doesn’t explore some of the deeper themes that helped to elevate “The Hunger Games” above its YA trappings. “The 5th Wave” doesn’t have anything to say about society or humanity (which is a key component of dystopian fiction). It all leads to a movie-watching experience that is at best mildly entertaining, and at worst, generic.
However, even calling it “mildly entertaining” might be a little generous, because the critics were not so kind. The movie holds a terrible 17% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site’s ‘Critics Consensus’ criticizing the “unimpressive effects” and “plot points seemingly pieced together from previous dystopian YA sci-fi films,” a summary that I can’t dispute.
Viewers didn’t care for it all that much either, while its audience score is a little higher at 38% it’s still far from a ringing endorsement. Frankly, this isn’t a movie I’ll be recommending any Netflix subscribers add to their watchlist this month. Just go rewatch “The Hunger Games” instead.
If you are looking for some new Netflix additions worth your attention, here’s my roundup of the best new to Netflix movies for August 2025. Or, if you’re in a sci-fi mood, we have a guide covering the overlooked sci-fi movies currently on Netflix that you probably missed.
Watch "The 5th Wave" on Netflix now
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