The young-adult book-to-movie adaptation has been booming for the past decade and a half, but new to the screens are a group of six kids with wings known as “The Flock” from James Patterson’s young adult series, “Maximum Ride” (2005-2015).

The nine-book series has been transformed into manga graphic novels, a mobile app and, more recently, a graphic novel through Marvel.

I wasn’t expecting the same high quality of the “Harry Potter” or “Hunger Games” movies. The “Percy Jackson” movies proved that a big budget doesn’t automatically create a blockbuster. Having waited for this opportunity since I read the books at age eight, I decided to buy the film on iTunes outright and watch it while live-tweeting to the star and the film’s official Twitter account. While I landed with mixed feelings, I side with the people who approve of this evolution of James Patterson’s story.

“Maximum Ride” was directed by Jay Martin and executive produced by YouTube sensation Jenna Marbles. It stars Allie Marie Evans, who is making her first large-role debut from a Youtube background in makeup videos, short films and vlogs. Unlike some people who believed the casting was disappointing based on the poster, I believe that Ms. Evans is the perfect Max: she perfectly captures the snark, leadership and emotional vulnerability of James Patterson’s winged heroine.

I was a little disappointed that the script opened with a flashback rather than the amazing zinger that opens the novel: “The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective.”

To be honest, a lot of the film’s dialogue was stilted (especially the lines spoken by the characters outside the Flock), but the Flock’s sarcasm and acting chops allowed many viewers to overlook the mostly less-than-stellar lines. The best (and most sarcastic) lines are shared between Max and Fang (her right-hand man), perfectly demonstrating their best-friend dynamic. For readers, the shared silent glances also hint at the possibility of a romantic relationship.

In the books, the villainous “Erasers” are half-wolf, half-human hybrids whom the School creates to hunt the Flock (who are half-avian, half-human). But in the film, the only one who looks like his book counterpart is Ari. The rest of the men look like normal soldiers, but as readers of the novels know, a main plot point of the series is that the first round of “Erasers” aren’t a success like the bird kids. Due to their normalness, the Erasers lost a lot of their ability to scare me, preventing me of ever truly fearing the Flock was in danger.

The one thing I haven’t talked about yet is the wings. While the super quick shots look okay, the flight scenes are too digital to be believable. It is the most disappointing part of the movie. And while the general plot remains intact, the wings aren’t distinguished for each Flock member, an important detail and plot in the literary series.

With all of this in mind, and despite the flaws illustrated here, the movie is action-packed, engaging and entertaining — while also raising important questions about the ethics of scientific experiments and whether people with power are responsible for those weaker than them.

The film ends in a way that implies a sequel, and though one hasn’t been officially optioned or started, this movie is compelling enough that I (and many other diehard fans) hope there will be a second film soon.