Uglies (2024) Netflix Trailer Review

Cinema: Hey there movie buffs! There’s a new trailer for “Uglies” and we’re buzzing. I’m looking forward to this dystopian sci-fi flick.

“Uglies” (2024) is a film. It is based on the novel series by Scott Westerfeld and is set to be released on Netflix.

FYI, for everyone who hasn’t read the books, “ugly” just means they’re a normal person. When they become “pretty,” they get extensive plastic surgery. Their face becomes perfectly symmetrical, and they look so perfect it borders on an uncanny valley (among other things). The terms are societal designations for people who have or haven’t had the surgeries yet rather than a remark on attractiveness.

I read this book when I was 13. I’m 31 now. What an unexpected blast from the past to see this adaptation pop up on my feed. I remember reading the sequel but never did find out how the series ends. The message of the book is more relevant than ever today.

Cast: Joey King, Chase Stokes, Brianne Tju, Laverne Cox, and Keith Powers.

Uglies (2024) Netflix Trailer Review

I can’t believe they’re finally adapting this series! I watched the trailer on my film projector, and it made the whole experience even more exciting.

The book actually elaborates more on this; it’s not just looks. The surgery the people receive in the world of the Uglies also alters their brains, hence affecting their emotions and desires. Post-surgery, the teens in the Uglies become very carefree, fun-loving, and artificially happy, like wearing a permanent set of rose-tinted glasses to the extreme.

This was in efforts to reduce and/or nullify any semblance of behavior that could be problematic (freedom of thought, intelligence to a degree, and all the other emotions that contribute to potential conflict/problems: anger, jealousy, frustration, embarrassment, grief, sadness).

The overall concept was: if everyone looked great and felt great all the time, how would problems ever arise in society? Flawed logic, yes, but that’s the base of every real and fictional system.

Update:

I still like the books better. The movie felt rushed, like they tried to cram everything all in there at once. This would have been perfect as a TV series. Would maybe give enough space to flesh stuff out to where it didn’t feel like a free fighter/revolution shitshow and we got to see the characters develop; like actually connect.