Review of The Fault in Our Stars (2014) by Prestonis — 07 Jun 2014
All emotions aside, this movie was worth the watch, but solely for entertainment and tear-jerking purposes. This movie does not deserve a perfect 10 (it's no 12 Years a Slave or Pulp Fiction), but it does deserve some credibility where it earned it— the cinematography and the acting, most notably.
Both leads did a wonderful job selling their characters. Unfortunately, however (and this may just be a critique of the book rather than the movie), the plot was somewhat flawed. For one, the movie (unlike the book) didn't explain why the father wasn't more of a prominent figure, whereas the mother was heavily involved.
That's a simple flaw, and not one worth giving a lower score for. What does alter my score, however, are the multiple plot cliches found throughout the movie, as well as film cliches. There was, of course!, the typical 'grab something at the same time and touch our hands "accidentally" ' cliche.
What I do commemorate is the slight plot twist: (DON'T READ THIS SENTENCE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE OR READ THE BOOK) most people would probably assume that Hazel would die, rather than Gus. So that was a nice gut-buster.
Overall, apart from the cliches and ultimate goal of causing the audience to flood the theater in their own tears, the movie was entertaining and inspiring (as well as the book, obviously). It reminds me of Perks of Being a Wallflower, but not quite as good.
It was an interesting take on a 21st century coming-of-age film (which is how I understood it to be, but with a touch of cancer). As a film, this movie deserves between a 5.5-6.5; as modern entertainment, this movie deserves an 8-9.
Recommended but not praised.
This review of The Fault in Our Stars (2014) was written by Prestonis on 07 Jun 2014.
The Fault in Our Stars has generally received very positive reviews.
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