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Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

First of let me say that I didn't mind the love-story or the connection between the involved... - However it fills the later half of the movie to an extent that is just syrupy and sappy in the extreme. No way that anyone sane is going to be that obsessed by a boy while world war III is occurring around her - At least I hope not... Saoirse Ronan is exceptional, while the rest doesn't have much of a story. The production is notably cheap, but it is still pretty well made on a budget. Way to many cuts though. As an introduction to the cozy catastrophe version of the post apocalyptic genre it is interesting, but sadly could have had so much more impact if the love story were either removed entirely or at the very least dialed way down. A much better look at this genre is Terry Nations's classic "Survivor" TV-series from 1978.

I've never seen Saoirse Ronan before but I was impressed by her performance in this film. I'd even rank her as one of the top three actresses aged 30 or younger, the other two being Jenna Coleman and Jennifer Lawrence. Actually, Saoirse reminded me of Jennifer because they look fairly similar (Jennifer's hotter though) and have similar acting styles. I've never read the novel so I can't compare it to this film, but it seemed to me that Saoirse was perfect for the role of Daisy. Daisy started off as being antisocial and a bit bitchy but despite her rudeness, I didn't dislike her and she developed into a much nicer person throughout the film. I thought her romance with Eddie was a bit rushed and nobody in the film even mentioned the incest going on between them, but overall Saoirse did an excellent job.I also liked Piper, played by Harley Bird, although at times, I thought she put a bit too much emphasis on some of her lines. However, she has a considerable amount of talent which makes up for her inexperience. She did a great job of showing how a child would react in those circumstances and even though she was a bit whiny at times, I wasn't bothered because it was stated in the movie that it was part of her character's personality.George MacKay and Tom Holland did good jobs as Piper's big brothers but didn't impress me as much as the girls. I also thought they didn't get enough focus. Although Daisy and Eddie were in love and Daisy warmed up to Isaac, I felt that her relationship with Piper is what carried the film. If not for the sisterly love between them, this movie would have been pretty weak. Daisy and Piper seemed more like sisters than cousins and I think their relationship was portrayed very well and became the heart and soul of the film. I thought that the terrorist attacks and Daisy's romance with Eddie didn't get enough focus, even though I think they were supposed to be a central part of the story. However, it did show how far one can be willing to go to protect a loved one as Daisy committed murder and serious injury in order to protect Piper. Despite not seeing any battles or explosions, the film did show us the aftermath of these events by showing a pile of corpses and giving Eddie post traumatic stress disorder. I think it may have been going with the idea that some things are better left to the imagination, so I'll give the movie credit for that, but I think a bit more attention should have been given to why Daisy and Piper were taken away. When the soldiers arrived, I wasn't sure if they were taking the girls to safety or simply kidnapping them. Because of the lack of focus on the terrorism and romance, I think the script was a little weak and slightly unfocused but Saoirse and Harley's acting made up for the flaws in the storyline.

How I Live Now portrays what life would be like in Britain if World War III were to happen. I think that how they portrayed the story of how these kids learn to adapt quickly to the changes and awful experiences really opened my eyes to see war, love, and loss differently. But what I don't understand is that Daisy, the American that comes to live with her British cousins, falls in love with the oldest one, Eddie. Now, are actually related or just family friends that are referred to as cousin? That part really threw me off. Overall, I thought that it was pretty good. I'm still in shock that the middle child of the three cousins, was killed. See, when the military came, they separated the boy and the girls, so really, the whole movie is from Daisy's perspective, so we never really see what happened to the boys because when Daisy goes back to her house, she finds Eddie, the older cousin, but he doesn't speak about what happens. And that's how they end it, just that the kids are now on their own and nobody knows what happened to Eddie. It's really kind of confusing. All in all, I liked it. I liked that it left me wondering but it's frustrating not knowing what happened. The parents never do return in the movie so I'm assuming they are dead or at some military camp. But I guess that's just how they live now....

This movie is the next in line on my personal favorites. I haven't seen a movie this excellent since Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend! The acting in this movie was absolutely astonishing and graphically spectacular. Now I've heard that this movie is based off a book. Never before have I wanted to read a the book of a movie I've seen except for this time. Yep, that's how great this movie is. Now, the incest in this movie kind of threw me off but, it sure was a good choice for the story (I guess I don't mind it as much as others do). Now, this review may be just a tad but biased because I was just downright attracted to the main protagonist of the movie, her style and looks. Also, I'm a sucker for apocalyptic movies. Other than that, that's my honest review of this movie. I definitely recommend it to anyone who's a fan of movies like the ones I love.