Netflix teen drama starring Joey King

A brave young woman fights against an oppressive society in a dystopian future, while honing her archery skills in the process. No, it’s not hunger gamesbut Netflix’s latest teen sci-fi movie, based on Scott Westerfield’s best-selling 2005 novel, which spawned several sequels. Joey King stars in the film adaptation, directed by McGc, while Ugly person Without erasing anyone’s memory of the aforementioned film series, it proves to be a fairly engaging thriller that should please younger viewers.

Diligent Joey King ( kissing booth series, the act, we are lucky) plays the central character Tully, who lives in a future world where all citizens are required to undergo plastic surgery at age 16 (which doesn’t seem far-fetched now) and are known as “uglies” before they transform. Became a “beauty”. Tully doesn’t object, as she tells us at the beginning of the film.

“My whole life I wanted to be beautiful. I thought this would change everything,” she said. Tully is about to celebrate her 16th birthday, and she excitedly compares possible future versions of herself in front of an artificial intelligence mirror. In the days leading up to surgery, she practices staying upright on a hoverboard (shades of Harry Potter) with her best friend Shay (Brianne Tju).

When Tully meets her friend Perris (Chase Stokes, Outer Banks) after he has received prescribed treatment. He seemed beautiful, but he seemed to have changed; he was no longer invested in their friendship or his old interests. Shay then tried to talk her out of the surgery, telling her that she was going to run away and join a rebel group called the Smoke.

Soon after, the society’s leader, Dr. Cable (Laverne Cox), orders Tully to go on a secret undercover mission, join the Smoke and become an informant or risk never becoming a beauty. She reluctantly agrees and soon heads to the smoke, which resembles a utopian nature commune. There, she reunites with Shay and meets handsome David (Keith Powers), who takes her under his wing and adds to the film’s chaste romance subplot color.

It didn’t take Tully long to realize that she had been living in a society where free thought was expressed. She returns home and rallies her friends to join her in fighting back. “Do you want to be a rebel?” she asked. “Today is your day.”

It all sounds familiar, but it sinks in easily thanks to McG’s skillful, fast-paced direction, imaginatively lavish CGI-enhanced visuals, and King’s impressive performance. Even though she openly admits to being a fan of the source material and serves as one of the film’s executive producers, it’s hard not to view the material as beneath her. But she’s such an engaging, likeable performer that you can’t help but get invested in her character as she realizes that she’s been living in a society where people have no control over their bodies. In the current political climate, this topic seems all too timely.