On Friday, September 13th, 2024 Netflix released a movie that was two years in the making. A popular book, Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld was turned into a movie starring Joey King. Since reading the book I have long awaited this movie, and I must admit that it was nothing like I expected. Uglies the movie, did not do the book justice whatsoever, was not engaging, and did not highlight some of the best scenes in the book.
Uglies takes place in a dystopian world where present day people, the Rusties, destroyed civilization, so a team of scientists came up with a solution to save the rest of humanity. When everyone turns sixteen, they undergo a surgery that makes them Pretty. This surgery makes everyone look beautiful, and people believe that it’s used to make sure that everyone is equal, and the way someone looks doesn’t cause conflicts and discrimination. This surgery marks the beginning of a new life for everyone living in the Uglies world. Tally Youngblood, the main protagonist, can’t wait for this surgery. She’s been dreaming of it her whole life, and when her friend Peris turns sixteen and undergoes the surgery she is left all alone. When she finally sees him again, she sees a change in him and feels even more alone than ever. Amidst her loneliness she meets Shay, a rebellious girl, who shares Tally’s birthday, so neither of them will ever be alone. When Shay disappears to the Smoke, a place where being “ugly” is normal and accepted, Special Circumstances enlists the help of Tally to retrieve her or she can’t have her surgery. Tally has to pick between sacrificing her best friend or being Pretty, and the choices she makes teach her that what she has always known about being a Pretty; isn’t what it appears to be.
Freshman, Isabella Cyran, agrees that the movie wasn’t her favorite. The movie was Cryan’s first introduction to the Uglies world and she claimed, “I did not have a very good impression of it.” I completely agree with Cryan. One way to describe the new Uglies movie is not engaging. The book kept me hooked all the way to the end, and to this day it still remains one of the best books I have ever read. It made me obsessed with the Uglies world and every page I turned kept me wanting more because of certain scenes, especially the Rusty Roller Coaster. Shay takes Tally to the Rusty Ruins, an old and falling apart city, where the remains of an old roller coaster lie. Using their hoverboards which fly with metals under them, they ride across the tracks of the roller coaster. In the book, I could feel their energy, and I wished that I was the one on that roller coaster. In the movie, I didn’t feel their fear, or the significance of that moment, marking Tally’s first step away from the Pretty world. A scene that I have waited years for, didn’t live up to its hype, and it’s one of my biggest pet peeves of the new movie.
So much of the book involved futuristic technology, specifically the hoverboards. Another one of Tally’s adventures took place on her way to the Smoke. I felt like I was Tally, and was experiencing riding the rivers rapids, falling off a cliff, camping in the woods, and hiding in a cave from thunderstorms. I couldn’t wait to see all these scenes brought to life, and honestly it just wasn’t the same as in the novel. I couldn’t really feel Tally’s excitement, her apprehension, and her fear. The scenes were kind of just there without all the emotion in the book. It’s possible that I’ve just outgrown the Uglies world, but this movie was supposed to be the final piece, in a world that I fell in love with years ago.
The Uglies movie was in no way perfect, but it wasn’t all bad. Seeing what a Pretty looks in a way that wasn’t fan art was a dream come true and so was seeing all of the futuristic technology. The bungee jackets, machines that turn people Pretty, and most of all, New Pretty Town, were cooler than I could have ever imagined. Part of what made me love the book so much was the futuristic technology that we don’t have and seeing it brought to life made the dullness of the movie fade a bit.
Uglies has been a book that so many people, including myself, have fallen in love with throughout the years. The book throws you into a new world and keeps you wanting more. The movie had its flaws, but it was nice to see such a good book brought to life. The movie wasn’t worth the wait, but the book is definitely worth the read.
