On May 3, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released The 5th Wave on Blu-ray and DVD. The alien invasion film feels fresh, standing out from the throngs of young adult films that have come out this year. Chloe Grace Moretz shines in the lead role and pulls the movie along.

In The 5th Wave, aliens are taking over the Earth in waves. First, they take out the power, then they flood the cities. Eventually, a plague kills off a large percentage of the population. After the fourth wave, the military takes over and starts training children to fight the alien invaders. Cassie has lost her entire family. Her mother died in the plague; her father was killed in a massacre. She gets separated from her younger brother when he’s taken by the military and she will stop at nothing to get him back. Who can she trust? Will she survive long enough to see him again?

I went into this movie expecting just another dystopian film along the lines of Divergent. Nothing spectacular, just mindless entertaining fluff. However, the movie surprised me. The acting was well done and the story was distinct enough to be interesting and pull you in. I found myself caring about the characters and wondering who to trust. I knew something was amiss, but didn’t foresee what the twist would be until it hit. The story had action, romance and monsters – an entertaining mixture.

This film stands above some of the other young adult picks this year. I thought the alien story had a unique angle and the characters weren’t cardboard cutouts. If you’re looking for a movie to entertain yourself as well as your teens, you could do a lot worse than The 5th Wave.

See the preview here: