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Critics Consensus: Wise, funny, and heartbreaking without resorting to exploitation, The Fault In Our Stars does right by its bestselling source material.
Critic Consensus: Wise, funny, and heartbreaking without resorting to exploitation, The Fault In Our Stars does right by its bestselling source material.
All Critics (212) | Top Critics (52) | Fresh (170) | Rotten (42)
The Fault In Our Stars could indeed become this generation's Love Story -- mildly implausible, but genuinely moving.
"The Fault in Our Stars" is unabashed in its efforts to make you well up, but the tears come from a real place.
The film has enough charm and humor to keep it appealing to a wide audience, and dumbing things down doesn't feel particularly smart or canny, and proves to be a minor distraction to an otherwise majorly entertaining feature.
Far from the shameless emotional pummeling it might have been, this adaptation of John Green's cherished YA cancer drama finds a conduit to earned, understated tears -- a tricky accomplishment given the material.
"The Fault in Our Stars" may not show the true messiness of cancer, but it does grapple with death and the ability to survive great loss. Maybe that's enough truth for one movie.
Led by the unforgettable work from a young actress who's among the best of her generation, "The Fault in Our Stars" is a lovely work.
In the end, this adaptation may not be all that different than effective screen tearjerkers of the past, but in staying true to its source material, its infinity is bound to be a little bigger than most.
It will certainly be a tearjerker for some, but the film's final triumphant message means that you shouldn't be too depressed when you leave the theatre.
The two-hour and five-minute running time of continuous sadness and unending pearls of wisdom made this viewer disconnect from the characters.
The problem may be that The Fault in Our Stars is based on a book by John Green; this certainly wouldn't be the first time a strong literary narrative had troubles translating to the screen.
Earnest performances lend depth to the characters, making them come alive.
Nothing beats the performances by Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern -- probably the two best reasons to see this film.
I will not lie to you: I cried a lot during this film. While I had been strong, and not cried when reading the book, I was a puddle when actually faced with a film that deals with the mortality of our two romantic leads: Hazel (Woodley) and Gus (Elgort). I loved their chemistry, the sweetness of their exchanges, and the stakes set up by their illnesses and friendship. It was sad to see some of the intimate and unique characteristics of the characters omitted from this adaptation, making the characters more one dimensional. Otherwise, I could still connect with the characters in this film even without making them so exceptional, mostly because Woodley and Elgort are so likable and sweet as the star crossed lovers. In this film it's easy to care about the stakes of their relationship, as well as their mortality. True to the book this film is unflinching in its characterization of people with cancer, and shows the true darkness of fighting something that you really have no control over. It's a rather sad, and unconventionally dire story, but one that is worth telling, and does justice to all those living with cancer and in love.
Super Reviewer
The book was better. Something in the casting of this felt off to me. Not that the cast do a bad job, they do their best with it, but to look at, it did not feel like Hazel and Gus to me. Maybe if I hadn't read the book it would have bothered me less. Actually the movie depressed me in a way the book didn't. Yet I didn't feel sad or emotional at all about the characters. I was kind of torn. The movie is adequately done enough to want to sit and watch it all the way through, but I sure was counting the minutes till it would be over. I don't think I will be rewatching this one. Laura Dern does put in a really good performance as the mum.
A sugarcoated sad story, if at all, no matter what it claims at the very beginning. Not necessarily a bad one, though. It's just they mess it up at one too many places that doesn't help it in being either a praiseworthy tearjerker or a thorough light-hearted entertainer. Nevertheless, the performances are top-notch.
"Fault in Our Stars" is the latest romantic tear jerker in the vein of "The Notebook". It's a story about 2 teenagers who fall in love while 1 is a cancer survivor who lost a leg, and the other has terminal lung cancer. While it's not going to be as remembered/loved as movies like the "Notebook", it's still better than 90 percent of the "teenage love movies". Shailene Woodley is fantastic, and one of the best young actresses out there today. I've liked her ever since "The Descendants" and she has just gotten better. Last week we watched "Divergent" and it had to trailers for her movies(this, and "Spectacular Now"), both of which Emily wanted to watch, so we(well she fells asleep during 2 of the 3), watched all 3 of em. Woodley gets better with each role, and it's going to be real interesting to see where her career goes. Ansel Elgort plus her love interest Gus, and he is fantastic also. The kid has some great charisma, and they have excellent chemistry together. The million dollar question for this movie to everyone is, did you cry? I must be pretty heartless because I did not. There was a scene towards the end where I felt a tear coming along, but something happened in the movie that took me out of it, and that was it. I fully expect every female out there that watches this to ball their eyes out(and well most of the guys will too). But, it's not nearly as "sad" as you would expect. It's pretty uplifting as a reminder to live each day to the fullest. Good movie that's definitely worth checking out.
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