In a world obsessed with perfection, turning 16 means more than just a birthday… it’s the start of a new identity. Everyone is required to undergo surgery to achieve society’s standard of beauty. But not everyone agrees, and some question the price of perfection.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

After the overreliance on fossil fuels caused chaos and war on Earth, a new age of scientists is tasked with salvaging what’s left of civilization. They eventually come up with a powerful renewable energy source, but this didn’t solve humanity’s main problem, which lies in their differences. To erase this, the scientists developed something called the transformation, which forces everyone in the new world to undergo a life-changing operation on their 16th birthday.

This operation makes people become their most perfect selves, and since it also makes everyone equal and happy, it eliminates the possibility of conflict. After the operation is done, the successful ones are called Pretties, while those who await their 16th birthday are called Uglies and made to believe that they aren’t good enough yet. One of such individuals is a girl named Tally, who checks her mirror and tells it to make her pretty.

As Tally admires what she’ll look like when she finally undergoes her transformation, she gets a text from her friend, Peris, who tells her to meet him on the roof. Tally looks happy to see his text, and she heads up immediately. After they sit together, they put on some futuristic glasses and stare at the city for pretty people to see what’s happening there.

The people in the city seem to be having fun, and Tally says it actually hurts that she can’t be there yet. Peris says she’s only three months away from being pretty, but she mentions that it still seems far, unlike his transformation, which is scheduled for the next day. Peris says he can’t believe it’s really happening, and that he has even been wondering if they’ll still recognize each other after the transformation.

Tally says they surely will, and she adds that she’ll really miss Peris because they’ve always done things together. She then asks if he won’t let them clean the scar on his palm, and he promises to keep it. He also tells her not to get into trouble while he’s gone so that they’ll eventually meet in the city after she undergoes the transformation in three months.

Since it might take a while before they see each other again, Peris comes up with an idea and suggests meeting each other at the bridge outside the city in one month. He says he’ll tell her everything about the city on that day, and Tally agrees to meet him there. The next day, Tally and Peris head to the auditorium for the graduation ceremony of those who will become pretty.

They sit in front of a girl named Shay, who talks to her friends about a place called the Smoke and how a boy named David takes people there. One of Shay’s friends thinks the Smoke isn’t real, but she insists that it is. Before they continue arguing, the District Governor, Dr. Cable, appears in the auditorium and announces that she’s happy for those who are about to have their lives transformed.

She adds that they’ll be beautiful and free from hatred and discrimination that might arise based on how they look. After this, she calls those graduating to come forward. As Peris stands up, Tally hugs him and tells him not to be late for their meeting in a month’s time. He says he’ll get there early, and as he heads forward, Shay asks Tally if he’s her boyfriend. Tally says he’s her best friend, and Shay says nothing else.

After the ceremony, Tally feels bored and lonely, and she also remembers when she first met Peris. As they eventually got to know each other, they decided to be best friends forever, and they even sealed it by cutting each other’s palms to leave a scar. The next day, Tally attends a class and gives a presentation on a flower called the White Tiger Orchid.

She says it’s the flower that the scientists made as a replacement for fossil fuels, and it not only powers their cities, but it decorates their countryside too. After she leaves the class, Tally continues her regular routine and continues sending texts to Peris, but he doesn’t respond to them. On the day they planned to meet, Tally sneaks out of her room and goes to the bridge, but Peris doesn’t show up.

As she gets worried because he’s never late, Tally climbs the bridge and sneaks into the city. She then sees a mask on the floor, and as she puts it on, it briefly makes her pretty. Tally then admires the city and can’t believe she’s actually there. After looking around for a while, Tally eventually finds Peris, and he looks shocked to see her. He also looks quite different and asks if she sneaked into the city.

Tally says she got worried when she didn’t see him at the bridge, and Peris mentions that he didn’t come because he didn’t know what they would talk about. He adds that she’ll understand when she becomes pretty. Tally sounds shocked to hear this because they agreed to be best friends forever. Peris then says they can still be friends in two months’ time when Tally finally moves to the city. Tally realizes that something has changed about him, and as she checks his palm, she sees that he has already cleaned the scar.

Peris says he realized that he didn’t need it anymore, and as Tally looks shocked, one of the city’s guards spots her as an intruder. Tally then runs away and wears a bungee jacket before jumping down a really tall building. As she then makes it back to the bridge, one of the patrol vehicles sees her, but before she gets caught, Shay shows up with her hoverboard and tells Tally to follow her.

Since she doesn’t want to get caught, Tally follows Shay, who uses her hoverboard to speed into the bushes and gets away from the patrol vehicle. When they eventually stop, Tally looks excited about what just happened, and as she also talks about jumping off a tall building, Shay says she’s really cool. Tally says she’s cooler because she just lost the patrol vehicle.

As she then asks what Shay was doing by the bridge, she says she was practicing some tricks. After this, Tally asks if she wants to go to the kitchen, but Shay says it must’ve been locked. Tally says she has a trick to open it, and the girls run to the kitchen to get a few things to eat. As they eventually sit on the roof, Shay asks what the city was like, and Tally says it’s just as beautiful as they’ve been told. Shay also asks if Peris was pretty, but Tally says she’s not really sure how to describe him.

Shay says it’s hard to see people go, but Tally says she shouldn’t really be bothered because she has a lot of friends. Shay says that most of them are now gone, and Tally offers to be her new friend. As Shay asks when her surgery will be, Tally says the date, and it turns out that they have the same birthday. The girls look excited by this, but they eventually head to their rooms. The next day, as Tally prepares to head to class, Shay shows up and tells her to skip it so she can practice how to use the hoverboard.

Tally likes this, and they both head to a place where Shay starts teaching her. After their training, Shay meets her friends at the entrance of the school, and one of them returns a book Shay gave her to read. As she says she enjoyed it because she didn’t know the Smoke was that beautiful, Tally sees the book and looks surprised because they’re not usually allowed to have such things around.

Shay then asks if she also wants to read it, and Tally says she’s interested. After she collects the book, Shay’s friends ask if she’s the one who sneaked into the city. Tally can’t believe that Shay has already told a lot of people, and she sounds worried because her surgery could be denied if the authorities know she’s the one.

Shay says they can’t do anything to her because they want everyone to be pretty, but Tally still sounds worried because she doesn’t want anything to affect her surgery. The next day, Tally and Shay get to spend more time together. While Tally is then making adjustments to the face she wants for her surgery, Shay doesn’t seem interested in this.

As Tally checks for Shay’s face on the app, Shay mentions that she deleted her account a long time ago. Tally is shocked to hear this, and she asks what Shay does with her spare time. Shay then takes her to an arena where she plays around with her hoverboard. After a while, Tally returns Shay’s book to her and says she really enjoyed it. She adds that the Smoke sounds beautiful and makes her wish she could visit it.

Shay then asks if it would be so bad not to do the surgery. Tally looks confused and tells her not to talk that way because they have no other alternative except growing old and having wrinkles. Shay says it’s not so bad, but Tally still stands in support of the surgery. Shay then says she can go to the smoke instead, but Tally says it’s a myth. She adds that if it was real, they would have surely seen the place or know someone who has been there.

Shay doesn’t say anything, and Tally realizes that her friend might know where the Smoke is. Shay then tells Tally to meet her close to the school’s border later that day. Tally doesn’t understand this, but as Shay leaves, she wonders why her friend wouldn’t want the surgery with just a day left before their graduation.

Shortly after, Tally meets Shay at the border and advises her against leaving because they could get into trouble, but she says that nothing will happen. As they then use their hoverboards to leave the border, they eventually get to an area of the old world whose people are referred to as Rusties. Shay also shows Tally a roller-coaster and tells her that it was built by the Rusties before their world was destroyed.

Tally says they need to head back before curfew, but Shay tells her not to worry about it. She then takes Tally onto a damaged building and tells her to look at the ruins of the old world. She also asks if she can show Tally something that she won’t tell anyone about.

Tally looks confused, but she says she’ll keep Shay’s secret. Just then, Shay creates a fire and says she’s using it to call someone. As Tally asks who she’s calling, she says it’s David, and that the Smoke is real. Tally looks shocked and says they need to go back because they could be denied their surgery if they’re found, but Shay says she’s not doing it. She adds that she wants to be free to read books and make things without being controlled.

Tally thinks there are good reasons to stay back, but Shay says that after their surgery, they will always be told what to do, and she doesn’t want that. She then mentions that on the night she saved Tally by the bridge, she was actually supposed to meet with some friends who were heading to the Smoke, but she chickened out. She adds that she saw things differently after spending time with Tally and thinking about how she could be free.

She also tells Tally to come with her, but she says that Shay is just scared of growing up. However, Shay mentions that she’s actually scared of not growing up. Tally then says she can’t come with Shay because she wants to be pretty. She says she’s so tired of feeling less than enough, and that she wants people to see her.

Shay then gives Tally a note with a series of coded messages that will help her find the Smoke if she changes her mind. As Shay sees someone light a fire in an opposite building, she says it’s David, and that she needs to leave. Tally tells Shay not to leave her alone, but she says she has to. Following this, Shay leaves with her hoverboard, and Tally returns to her room. The next day, Tally attends her graduation ceremony and is taken to the place where the surgery will be performed.

Unfortunately, Tally doesn’t get called in for the surgery, and a guard shows up and tells her to come with him. As he’s taking her to another building, Tally asks if she’s in trouble for sneaking into the city the other day, but the man doesn’t say anything. After a while, Tally is then taken to meet Cable, who looks happy to see her.

As Tally wonders what’s happening, Cable says sorry for delaying her surgery, and she also mentions that she needs Tally’s help. Cable then asks if Tally noticed that Shay wasn’t present for her graduation. Tally says she thought Shay was sick, but Cable notices that she seems nervous. She then mentions that she believes Shay has been brainwashed by a man named David, who has now kidnapped her. Cable asks if Tally knows anything to help find Shay, but she says she doesn’t.

Cable looks surprised and says she’ll have to send Tally back to the dorms for the night to see if she can remember anything. Tally sounds shocked to hear this because no one has ever gone back to the dorms after their graduation. However, Cable says it’s just to help her remember anything she knows regarding how to find Shay.

As Tally returns to the dorms, she feels really sad because everyone keeps staring at her. After she gets to her room, Peris comes over to visit her, and Tally looks happy to see him. She then mentions that she really needed to see him because she doesn’t know what to do.

As she explains the situation to him, he encourages her to tell Cable whatever she knows, but Tally says she promised Shay not to tell anyone. Peris says she won’t really be breaking her promise to Shay since Cable only wants to help her. After Tally thinks about it, she returns to Cable’s office and says she’s ready to help.

Cable thanks her for this, and she says that David and his people need to be stopped because they’re creating a weapon that they plan to use to wipe out the new city. She says they only believe their way of living is the best, and it’s why they want to destroy the city. Tally looks shocked and says it’s not what Shay wanted, but Cable says she’s already part of them, and that if she tries to leave, David will kill her.

She then says she needs Tally to find the Smoke and become one of them so she can find their weapon before it’s too late. She also says it’s up to Tally to decide whether she wants the surgery or to head into the unknown to save her friend and everyone in the city. Tally agrees to go on the mission, and Cable gives her a special necklace. She then mentions that when Tally finds the weapon, she can signal them using the necklace so they’ll be on their way to stop the Smoke. Following this, Tally follows the directions in Shay’s note to find the Smoke.

After a difficult journey, Tally finally stops on a field with White Tiger Orchid flowers to wait for someone, just like Shay wrote in her note. Elsewhere, Cable thanks Peris for going to convince Tally to share Shay’s secret. She then asks how it felt to see Tally and be back in the dorms again. Peris says it felt good, and that he started feeling things he hadn’t felt since his surgery.

He adds that even though it feels stupid, he thinks he’s still connected to Tally. Cable says he’s not stupid, and that there are others like him who need something more. She then mentions that the scientists have been working on a new path for people like Peris. She says the path will give them clearer thoughts and make them very special. Peris sounds interested in this, and during the new surgery, his physical and mental abilities are enhanced.

Meanwhile, Tally wakes up and sees that the flowers are now on fire. As she looks scared, someone comes out of nowhere and saves her. He then reveals himself to her as David, and he says he needs to confirm that she isn’t being tracked. Just then, he scans her hoverboard and finds a tracker. Tally says she didn’t know how it got there, and David says it’s normal to find trackers in the hoverboards because that’s how they’re made.

As he then scans her body, Tally looks scared that he’ll discover what the necklace is for, but surprisingly, his machine doesn’t beep, and she looks relieved. Elsewhere, Cable is informed that the tracker in Tally’s hoverboard has been removed. She then tells her assistant to send two specials to the area. Meanwhile, Tally asks David if they’re already in the Smoke. David says they’re still at an outpost, and that they always bring new people there first so they can vet them.

Shortly after, they meet some other people in the woods, and David introduces her to a boy named Croy. Surprisingly, Shay is also there, and as she sees her friend, they both look excited and hug each other. Croy then asks David if he doesn’t think it’s suspicious that Tally made it to the field on her own, even though it’s nearly impossible. David says it is strange, but that if she really found them alone, then they’ll need her help.

Later that night, Shay asks Tally about the necklace, and she says it was a gift from Peris. Tally then asks if Shay is happy to be with David and the others, and she says she is. Tally says she didn’t expect that because he has her doubts about the Smoke. Shay asks why she would say this, and Tally says she’s just worried for her friend. Shay then mentions that if Tally came to take her back, it shows that she doesn’t fully support the Smoke.

She also says that Tally should leave before the others find out, but she begs Shay to let her stay for a few days so that she’ll know if the Smoke is a good or bad community. Shay says she’ll let her stay and not report to the others, but that in a few days, Tally needs to decide whether she wants to stay or leave. The next day, Tally sees Shay and the others discussing something, and she asks what they’re doing.

Shay says they want to light fires on the orchids, but Tally doesn’t understand this. David then says that the flowers are actually toxic, and they’re turning the planet into a wasteland. Tally says that the plants are a clean solution to the oil the rusties used, but David says it’s what she has been made to believe.

David then says she can follow them if she wants, but Croy thinks it’s too risky because they don’t know her well. Shay says she can vouch for her friend, and David agrees to take her along. They then head into a helicopter, which Shay says was used in the past by Rusties. As they eventually leave, they start burning the fields, but Croy suddenly notices that there are some unknown movements on the ground. David tries to move the helicopter toward the ground, but Shay falls in the process.

Tally is shocked by this, and even though David advises her against it, she jumps down to find Shay. After finding her, one of the city’s special soldiers charges toward her, but she attacks the person. She then carries Shay and jumps on a rope to head back into the helicopter.

As they land, Croy believes Tally led the scouts to them, but Shay can’t believe he’d say something like that. David then mentions that even though they don’t know Tally, he believes they can trust her because she jumped out of a helicopter to save Shay. He then says they need to pack their things and leave for the Smoke. As they get there, Shay tells Tally that they grow their own food and make their own things. She adds that the most important thing in the community is that they’re all free to do whatever they want.

As Tally starts going around, Croy catches her checking inside an underground bunker, but she says she’s only looking for drinking water. After she walks away, Croy finds this weird and thinks there’s something suspicious about her. Later that night, David speaks to everyone in the Smoke and tells them about what happened the previous day.

He then says that even though the city will keep coming for them, they need to continue fighting to protect what they have. The next day, David sees blisters on Tally’s hand while he’s showing her how to shoot an arrow. After leaving the training ground, Tally asks if he ever misses the city, but he says he was born in the Smoke.

Tally sounds surprised to hear that he knows his parents, and she says doesn’t have a relationship with hers. As she mentions that it’s normal for parents to be like that, David says it’s not. He then gives her his gloves so she can cover her blisters.

Tally thanks him for this, but almost immediately, an injured person is brought to the smoke after having another encounter with the city’s scouts. The lady mentions that the scouts are now different because they’re much faster and stronger. As David and the others look worried about this, Tally offers to help the lady treat her wound. Later that day, Shay sees Tally wearing David’s gloves, and she says he gave them to her. Shay then says that such gestures mean something in the Smoke, and that it seems David likes her.

She also tells Tally that she needs to make up her mind because it’s unfair that she’s still undecided on whether she wants to be with them. The next day, while they’re walking together, David asks Tally why she changed her mind after refusing to follow Shay earlier. She says she just wants to choose who she becomes in the future, and that she had her doubts because she heard that David and his people always brainwash people.

David jokes about this, but Tally says she heard they have a weapon they plan to use to wipe out the city. David is shocked to hear this, and he decides to take her to meet his parents, Az and Maddy. David then tells them that he wants to tell Tally the truth, but they say she’s not ready yet because she just arrived.

David says she can handle it, and his parents tell Tally that they used to be scientists who worked for the state until they discovered that the surgeries were leaving people with a pattern of lesions in their brain, which made it easy for them to be controlled. She says they were part of the inner circle who were given a cure that made them regain their ability to think freely again. After they discovered that the state was actually making people dull to control them, they fled the city and decided to form the Smoke so they could offer people a path of freedom.

Maddy then mentions that they’re already working on a cure, but there’s a key component that they don’t have yet. She adds that Az is trying to replicate the component, and that after it’s done, they’ll look for volunteers to test it. Tally asks why they can’t just force it on the pretties, but David’s parents mention that they want people to decide on their own.

After Tally leaves there, she throws Cable’s necklace into the fire because she now wants to be with the Smoke. However, the necklace still sends a signal to Cable just before it gets burnt. The next day, while Tally and David are in the woods, Cable brings her enhanced special soldiers to attack the Smoke. While David’s parents and the others are eventually apprehended by the soldiers, one of whom is Peris, Davis and Tally hide in the woods and watch what’s happening. Cable then shows up, and Maddy tells her that she needs to let people have the right to choose.

Cable doesn’t seem to care about this, and she asks for David because she knows he’s the leader of the rebellion. Az and Maddy don’t reveal where he is, and Cable instructs Peris to kill Az. Just as he does this, everyone is shocked, and David also leaves his hiding spot with Tally, who can’t believe what just happened. Tally tells Cable that she didn’t say anything about killing people, and everyone looks shocked because it means she’s the one who led the scouts to them. Cable says Tally did her job well, and that her surgery has been scheduled.

She adds that Maddy and the others will also undergo the surgery when they return to the city. Just then, Maddy secretly puts a glass vial into David’s pouch, but he doesn’t know. As Cable tells her soldiers to take everyone as prisoners, Tally runs away and sets off a fire to blow up one of the soldiers. David also runs away from the scene, and as Peris is about to go after Tally, Cable says there’s no need because she’ll eventually come back. After Cable leaves with the prisoners, Tally finds David, but he nearly kills her because she’s a traitor.

Tally says she didn’t know the necklace would signal Cable and the soldiers. She adds that she only agreed to work for Cable because she said that David was going to kill Shay and everyone. David eventually continues packing his things, and as Tally asks where he’s going, he says he has to save his mom and everyone else. Tally offers to help him, but he says he doesn’t trust her. Tally says he doesn’t have to, but that he needs her help because he has never been to the city.

Following this, Tally and David head to the city together. As they get there, Tally meets Shay’s friends and tells them that the smoke is real. She also introduces David to them, and they look shocked. Tally then tells them to create a distraction in the city by writing the Smoke Lives in the sky.

After they do this, Tally and David sneak into the prison and beat up one of the guards before releasing Maddy and the others. Croy looks angry as he sees Tally, but David says she’s now helping them. Tally then notices that Shay is not in the cell, and Croy says she has been taken for her surgery. Tally says she has a plan to save Shay, but they’ll have to work together. Following this, David, Tally, and Maddy head to the surgical room together, but they see that Shay has already become pretty. As she talks about how she likes being pretty, Cable shows up and forces the three of them to enter different surgical chambers.

Just before the machine starts working, Croy shows up by the window in a helicopter and sets the room on fire. This stops the procedure and gets David and the others freed. Maddy also picks up a special component from the lab before leaving with the others. Unfortunately, Peris is already waiting to attack them on the roof, but Tally says she can talk to him. As she then tells him to remember who he is, he tries to touch her face, but David thinks he’s about to kill her, so he attacks Peris.

He ends up being no match for Peris, who eventually gets pushed off David by Tally. In the process, Peris falls off the building, and Tally is unable to save him. As she and David then leave to meet the others, Maddy says she already took the missing component for her cure when they were in Cable’s surgical room.

David says they still can’t make the cure since they don’t have the other serum. However, Maddy tells him to check his pouch, and as he does so, he sees the glass vial inside. Tally asks if it means that Shay can be cured, but her friend says she likes being pretty. Tally looks sad to hear this, and Shay says they’re all paranoid and jealous because they’re not like her. As she walks away, Croy asks why they can’t just make her use the cure, and Maddy says they want a willing volunteer to test it because it might not work, and it could even lead to death.

Tally then volunteers to do it, and everyone is shocked to hear this. She says she’ll let Cable make her pretty so that Maddy can use the cure on her. Maddy and David think it’s too risky, but Tally says she still wants to do it. She adds that if the cure works on her, it might convince Shay and everyone else to change their mind about being pretty. As Maddy and the others decide to leave, David asks how they’ll know if she still remembers them, and she says she’ll leave them a sign.

Following this, Tally surrenders herself to Cable’s soldiers, and they arrest her. A while later, Tally is now living in the city after becoming pretty. As her room’s automated voice system asks how she’s feeling after her surgery, Tally says she likes her new self. She also stares at the scar on her palm and says she loves being pretty.

After initially working for Cable to infiltrate the Smoke and find their secret weapon, Tally eventually realized that David and his people were actually fighting for a good cause.
Unfortunately, Cable still found the Smoke through Tally, and it ultimately led to Az’s death and Shay’s forced transformation. Tally didn’t want this to happen, but to earn the Smoke’s trust again, she volunteers to undergo the risky transformation surgery so that Maddy would be able to test her experimental cure on her, even if it could kill her.

But do you think she did the right thing, or should she have spent more time trying to convince Shay to take the cure instead?

Uglies 2024 .