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Directed by: Jake Schreier
Written by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Run time: 109 Minutes
Rating: 12A
Rotten.T: 5.8/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Shan: 5/10
Audience: N/A
This review is going to be from someone who has read half of the book so I will try and comment on the film itself as well as the film in relation to the book.
Prior to seeing the film, I had read up to part 2 of the book and I went to watch it with my brother who has read all of it, (who was extremely excited to see the film). The first parts of the book were relatively the same as the film, which is good as I appreciate it when a film stays true to the book. However, this did not last long; around an hour into the film, it took a completely different route. A lot of the lines in the film were cringey, and portrayed in a different way to the book. Margo and Quentin's conversation's were intelligent, witty and quick, but in the film they seemed to be a lot slower and a lot less witty, which I believe ruined their characters and made them much less interesting.
Now let's talk about characters!
Margo - Cara Delevinge: I was originally a bit disappointed at this casting, as it seemed as if she was cast for the role only due to her high fame at the minute. But after watching the trailer a few times and actually watching the movie, I thought she played Margo perfectly.
Quentin (Q) - Nat Wolff: I thought watching Nat Wolff would be somewhat weird after being a big fan of The Naked Brother's Band (lol), but he is exactly how I pictured Quentin so I was pleased with this casting, (however annoying it is that John Green characters just seem to be played by the same actors in every film adaptation).
Ben - Austin Abrams: I really don't know how to say anything good about this casting. Besides the fact that he looks about 12, he also just seems to be in the film for the 'comedy factor'. Although the acting from Abrams isn't terrible, he is not the right person for the role at all.
It feels as if the film was purposely made cheesey and cliche to please the young teen audience that would be watching it, (especially a certain Pokemon scene). The book is insightful, intelligent and philosophical, where the film is not (which is a major disappointment). One good thing about the film is the soundtrack. The songs included in the film were extremely fitting and were just good songs in general. One scene in the film gave me goosegumps due to the music, and I must say that that made the film better in itself. Don't get me wrong though, a few scenes in the film were made very well.
Without spoiling the ending, I must say that I was quite surprised and it was actually somewhat sad. I am happy the film ended this way as it wasn't expected or cliched, unlike the rest of the movie.
On a whole, the film was not great. It was definitely made for the 12-16 age group, and it did not please me at all. The film could have been made a whole lot better if they stuck to the books main motifs and ideas but I believe that they altered it too much which was a mistake on the director/script writer's part. The film adaptation of 'Paper Towns' was made to be a lot more romantic than I believe that John Green intended, which again made it slightly unbearable to watch.
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