Uglies Review: A Dystopian Adaptation 15 Years Too Late

It’s been a while since fans of the YA dystopian genre have been given any new films to add to their collection, apart from the latest Hunger Games movie. Unfortunately, this adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s bestselling 2005 book Uglies arrives 15 years too late.

In true dystopian fashion, Uglies takes place in a future post-scarcity world and follows the strong, young female lead, Tally Youngblood (Joey King), a strong, young female protagonist.

King has been in her fair share of young adult-themed films such as The Kissing Booth franchise, Ramona and Beezus, The In Between, and more. So it would make sense that she leads this new film adaptation in the role of the sixteen-year-old heroine.

Had Uglies been released in the 2010s, when the dystopian genre had a huge peak in popularity, this film would have stood alongside classics such as Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and more.

But ultimately, this film falls short in multiple ways that are difficult to overlook, even as someone who was a huge fan of the book series.

One of the first problems found with this film is the cast. Despite the entire cast being extremely talented performers, the casting for Uglies feels more like a reunion for old Netflix characters than an accurate portrayal of these characters.

For example, Joey King worked on The Kissing Booth franchise and A Family Affair with Netflix. Keith Powers was a part of The Perfect Find. Chase Stokes is best known for his role in Outer Banks, but he also appeared in Stranger Things for a cameo.

Laverne Cox was in Inventing Anna and Orange Is the New Black, and Jan Luis Castellanos was in 13 Reasons Why and Tall Girl 2.

The list goes on, and this takes away from the film as a whole. Especially because there are so many other talented actors and actresses who are actually 16 years old or look the age that could have brought these characters to life and done them justice.

Pointing out again that although this cast is extremely talented, the characters in this film had little to no chemistry until the very end of the film.

The only two that had off-the-charts sparks were Shay and Tally, but of course, these two are shown and portrayed as “just friends.”

Another rough point of the film is the CGI and special effects. As a fan of dystopian films, I can understand trying to make it look and feel as though this film is being released in the 2010-2015 era, but the CGI in this film looks fake and half-done.

One significant example of this is the “pretty” procedure. From how it looks in the mirrors of the kid’s rooms to how it looks on the characters once they’ve undergone the surgery.

The “pretty” look is basically a filter you could find on Instagram or TikTok and use to make a meme.

As someone who loved the books, it pains me to say that the overall plot fell short. Where the book had you on the edge of your seat and trying to guess what would happen next and what the big reveal would be at the end, the film spoiled everything within the first 40 minutes.

The plot is easy to figure out and becomes repetitive once Tally accepts her mission to find Shay and end the smoke.

I wish they would have kept more of the original twists and turns the book had, or even just not shown that David’s mom put the vile in his pocket before he ran away.

Overall, the thought is there for the film, but ultimately the execution isn’t. There are select scenes and nods to the books that I enjoyed, but it definitely misses the mark on becoming a YA dystopian classic.

What did you think of Uglies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Uglies is now streaming on Netflix. 

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