Uglies is a science fiction, dystopian action/adventure film that takes place in the future USA. During this time, society has evolved so much that once a person turns 16 years old, they undergo plastic surgery to receive any face that the individual wants. If you want green eyes, gold skin and pink highlights, sure go right ahead. Your friend wants super long red hair with small ears and two different colored eyes? Why not? People who have not yet received their perfect makeover are called “Uglies”. Although the premise of this idea was interesting, I was left dumbfounded on how Netflix could make such a bad movie.
First, can we stop casting 30-year-olds to play teenagers? Joey King, Chase Stokes and Brianne Tju are all over 25 years of age, but they play 15-year-olds. Make it make sense. How are younger actors supposed to make a name for themselves if they keep on getting pushed aside for actors and actresses like these. Along with the terrible casting, the acting and dialogue was just as bad. Some scenes were just so cringy and the line delivery was not good at all.
Another gripe I had with Uglies was the pacing. The movie started off decently with the world building and introductions but all of a sudden everything happened all at once. First, we were here, then we were there and then where did this person come from? When movies do this, I tend to lose interest very quickly.
The only positive aspect of Uglies was the world building. Like I stated previously, the beginning of the film does a good job at showing what a futuristic society would look like. It was different from the typical dystopian movies, and I appreciated that. I got a lot of vibes similar to the Divergent series.
Final Thoughts
What Uglies has in creativity, they lack in execution. Futuristic films are such an interesting idea to throw around and play with, but it has to be done correctly. I quite enjoyed the direction and idea of the film. Uglies left on a massive cliffhanger but please don’t make me watch another movie with Joey King and Chase Stokes playing characters 10-20 years younger than them again.
