About a decade ago, you couldn’t make a trip to the multiplex without finding some kind of teen action franchise. And while the “Hunger Games” “Maze Runner” and “Divergent” series all had their low points, most of the world building experience was a rewarding one.

Flash forward to 2024 and “Uglies”, and we’re getting an absolutely ridiculous attempt to jolt the genre back to life while also attempting to franchise build.

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Joey King plays Tally Youngblood, a 16 year old who lives in a future where everyone undergoes surgery to make them pretty with the rationalization that the world’s problems will go away if everyone is hot and parties all of the time. It’s not long before Tally realizes something much more devious is at play and is pulled an to underground called “The Smoke” which looks to overthrow the pretty regime.

If this sounds familiar it’s because you’ve seen it before in many other skins.

Bless Joey King for trying her best to make this dreadful protagonist likable. We’re never really rooting for Tally because she doesn’t even believe in what she’s doing. And the psychological path they want us to take on her journey is just asking too much to make this movie any good. The rest of the cast is forgettable and even the special effects look like a PS4 snowboarding remake. The movie is only an hour and a half long and feels like to could have been even shorter.

The only positive remarks I have here are that the story does commit to the darker moments. At least Director McG doesn’t back down from the unpopular decisions, even though with a track record like his he could have at least made sure we had a little fun with this mess.

Skip it and go watch Tris or Katniss again.

Uglies:

Grade: D

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