Review of Paper Towns (2015) by Kyle H — 24 Jul 2015
Intriguing initial premise, but ultimately a routine coming-of-age story. Obligatory crude humor to create the illusion of intense honesty and edginess. Performances that are good for the parts, but largely lack real substance.
In short, PAPER TOWNS is pretty par for the course. Although, so many movies based on young adult novels are under par that PAPER TOWNS is still a decently enjoyable watch, even if lacking the teased mysteriousness from its trailers.
The most interesting moments in the movie are the (excellent, but very brief) moments of reflexivity - acknowledgement of the male perspective bias and the explicit decision to avoid constructing the female characters in a way that only satisfies the fantasies of the male protagonist[s].
Cara Delevingne shines in her supporting role as the woman who resists being pigeon-holed into the role of damsel in distress or mere love interest. All in all, PAPER TOWNS has some nice moments and does enough work to guide the audience toward being invested in characters if they want to be; although, the plot often descends into being redundant and mundane after the intriguing first act.
This review of Paper Towns (2015) was written by Kyle H on 24 Jul 2015.
Paper Towns has generally received mixed reviews.
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