Uglies – Review | Netflix (3/5)

UGLIES on Netflix is a sci-fi thriller from McG. Teens and young adults are the protagonists at the heart of the story. Think Hunger Games meets Divergent. More movies are bound to follow. Read our full Uglies movie review here!

UGLIES is a new Netflix sci-fi thriller set in a dystopian future where only being pretty matters. I realize this might sound like a very shallow premise, but it’s much deeper and darker than you might expect.

This is clearly meant to be an origin story that sets the stage for future movies. Even the ending of this movie tells you that much. Also, it’s based on a book series, so there are more books to adapt.

Continue reading our Uglies movie review below. Find it on Netflix on September 13, 2024.

“Don’t you want to be pretty?”

In this movie, we essentially see a world where social media has become real life. Those filters people use on social media are now implemented via a surgery that everyone gets when they turn 16 years old.

It’s all about being pretty and even the tiniest imperfection or asymmetrical part of a face is seen as a flaw. While growing up at a boarding school, the kids look at themselves in a mirror and ask the AI to “make me pretty”.

The result is a world where everyone has flawless skin, perfectly symmetrical faces, and changes their hair and eye color to whatever they prefer.

Also, the “procedure” they undergo on their 16th birthday impacts their mind as well. It makes them rather vapid and focused on appearances and perfection rather than whatever they were previously interested in.

Tally – the main protagonist

In Uglies, the main protagonist is named Tally Youngblood (Joey King). However, she’s known as  “Squint” at the boarding school where everyone is named after their imperfection. Her best friend is “Nose” despite his name being Peris.

In this dystopian futuristic world, human nature has managed to ravage the planet before supposedly discovering that if everyone is pretty, there will be no war or crime.

Obviously, there’s more to the world than just that, but people are brainwashed into believing this. If you want to be part of the world as you know it, then you have to believe it.

However, before getting the procedure that will make her pretty, one of Tally’s new friends, Shay (Brianne Tju) runs away to an alternative way of life. Believing she can save her friend – and everyone else – Tally goes after her.

Once she sees an alternative way of life, Tally questions everything. Can she believe what she has been told all her life? Or is there more to life than simply being “pretty”?!

The cast of Uglies

While Joey King (The Lie) stars in Uglies, she is far from the only familiar face in the series. Also, Joey King is a producer on the series as she has been a huge fan of the books this movie (and those sequels that are bound to come) was based on.

The cast of Uglies also includes actors such as Keith Powers (#REALITYHIGH), Chase Stokes (Stranger Things), Brianne Tju (47 Meters Down: Uncaged), Jan Luis Castellanos, and Charmin Lee (The 5th Wave).

Plus, we get to see Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black, Doubt) as the leader of this world of pretty people. She has a fierce presence that works perfectly for that particular character.

Watch Uglies on Netflix 

Uglies is directed by McG who is a director famous for making gorgeous-looking movies. From the 2000 Charlie’s Angels movie to The Babysitter, his movies may have edgy stories, but the visuals are always sharp and beautiful.

Scott Westerfeld’s 2005 novel of the same name is the first of four. I expect we’ll hear about the next movie being greenlit soon. Also, Scott Westerfeld wrote Leviathan, which is being turned into a Netflix anime series.

While the book Uglies is almost 20 years old now, the story is more relevant than ever. What is also relevant, is seeing that the so-called “Uglies” are leading full and wonderful lives.

It’s just that they’ve been led to believe that the thing to want is to be pretty. Again, very much like social media where everything is filtered, censored, edited, and tweaked to suit the exact image anyone wants to show the world.

Despite the craving to be beautiful and live in the world of the “pretties”, their lives as “uglies” are so much fuller. While set in a dystopia, they play pranks, ride hoverboards, and have the best time with friends, talking about their desires.

Now, that is the kind of message I can get behind. To see people recognize that they are enough. And that being a good friend is more important than looking good on social media.

UGLIES is out on Netflix on Friday the 13th of September 2024.

Details

Director: McG
Script: Jacob Forman, Vanessa Taylor, Whit Anderson
Cast: Joey King, Chase Stokes, Brianne Tju, Keith Powers, Laverne Cox, Charmin Lee, Jan Luis Castellanos