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A film that seeks to entertain and that serves as a critique of the modern world and the superficiality that surrounds today's society, as well as enjoying some good special effects, should not be judged with such a heavy hand.
Although the recipe is starting to wear out, it is a mix between ‘Divergent’, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘The Maze Runner’, but I was very struck by its plot, although it is quite simple, dividing society into ugly and beautiful, and that when you turn 16 you have a cosmetic operation to gain access to the elite, where only the beautiful are. I think this is a very interesting idea.
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The four-book saga that begins with Uglies comes to the fore with an interesting cast that commits itself with all its love to give us a good time on screen, especially its protagonist Joey King, who works as the most lethal weapon of the visual proposal.
King is the one who really brings out the whole proposal and is the one who holds on her shoulders a script that never decides which way to go and therefore we are left with a film in the middle at all times.
In my opinion what is weak is the development of the characters, the film doesn't last 102 minutes, it lasts an hour and a half, the remaining 12 minutes are the credits, and I have missed depth in the main characters, I think that is the only thing that plays against the film so that it would be judged differently.
I liked the soundtrack, it's not very outstanding but it has its own vibe. The futuristic special effects with flying vehicles (like ‘Marty McFly's’ skateboard) and futuristic gadgets are very well done and quite striking.
The direction again proves that McG knows how to make films in this style, but again falls back on the simplicity of it all and fails to give us a more determined and authentic approach than a simple compilation of chroma key images. Perhaps his greatest asset is to give us a couple of nice landscapes that stand out with beautiful photography by Xiaolong Liu.