QUICK REVIEW: Paper Towns

Howdy ladies and gents, it is time for a new film review! After missing a good few films here and there today I bring you a review of a film I actually had no intentions of seeing; Paper Towns. I looked at the trailers for this film and saw that it was from the same people who adapted The Fault In Our Stars and was instantly turned off because I thought it was another love-focused drama. Even with the mystery element to it I wasn’t interested, but thanks to one of my best friends I ended up seeing it to today and now I’m gonna give you my thoughts on the film.

The plot can be summed up as the following:

“After an all night adventure, Quentin’s life-long crush, Margo, disappears, leaving behind clues that Quentin and his friends follow on the journey of a lifetime.”

The plot for this film is one that delights and yet also frustrates me. What I like about the film is that it is an adventure, a quest for love and there’s an emphasis on living in the moment, staying true to yourself and keeping the bonds with your friends close. There are also some life lessons to be learnt, but more so than that there’s a lot of common sense lessons to be learnt too. However, what I wasn’t so keen on was the elements that dealt with infatuation and obsession, misdirection and a conclusion that didn’t feel as satisfying as I would have hoped. But going back to what I liked was the fact there was many parts to this film, it was comedic, it was part road trip, part coming of age and when the drama went down it was heavy and relatable to anyone who has ever had strong feelings for someone or has had a great set of friends they love. Besides the stuff I mentioned before my only other issues was the fact that the pacing dragged a little in the middle and there were just a  few aspects I would have liked to have seen cleared up before the film ended. Oh, and I have to mention that this film wins major kudos for the Pokemon references, there’s one moment in particular, that if you’re a hardcore Pokemon fan you’ll appreciate it. 🙂

As for the cast I thought they were good. Nat Wolff as Quentin “Q” Jacobsen was good, Wolff did well with his material as this likeable guy who has love for a girl and will go out of is way to find her. Cara Delevingne as Margo Roth Spiegelman was also pretty good too, I was watching Delevingne closer (because she’ll be in Suicide Squad next year) and I was pleasantly surprised at how well she acted. Margo was this pretty, adventurous and mysterious girl who on the surface was seemed easy enough to figure out but you see that there’s hidden layers to her too. I will admit that both Quentin and Margo exhibit behavior that doesn’t make them very likeable (Margo more so than Quentin), and at points I questioned their intentions and where their loyalties lied too. Austin Abrams and Justice Smith were lovely as Ben Starling and Marcus “Radar” Lincoln. They were Quentin’s best friends and provided a lot of moments of fun, comedy and drama. Abrams and Smith had great chemistry as did Wolff when he was with them too. Halston Sage as Lacey Pemberton was quite good offering a character who could have easily been a throwaway person, but instead added to the main trio adventure. And finally Jaz Sinclair as Angela was quite fun too and like Lacey, Angela added another nice flavour to this mix of characters.

In conclusion Paper Towns is a film that I really liked. It had an interesting story, great characters and some heartwarming and fun moments, however there are a few questionable choices with the story and character moments that just kept this from being something that I truly loved.

Rating: 7/10

So have you seen Paper Towns and if so what did you think of it? Please be sure to comment below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

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