The Fandom
  • ALL POSTS
  • MOVIES
    • Movie Reviews
  • BOOKS
    • Book Reviews
    • Authors
  • TV SHOWS
  • FANDOM FUN
    • Fandom Feels Podcast
    • Giveaways
    • Quizzes
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Interviews
  • ABOUT US
    • Write for us!
    • Advertise With Us
    • Privacy Policy
Facebook Twitter Instagram
The Fandom
  • ALL POSTS
  • MOVIES
    • Movie Reviews
  • BOOKS
    • Book Reviews
    • Authors
  • TV SHOWS
  • FANDOM FUN
    • Fandom Feels Podcast
    • Giveaways
    • Quizzes
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Interviews
  • ABOUT US
    • Write for us!
    • Advertise With Us
    • Privacy Policy
The Fandom
Home»PAPER TOWNS Movie Review

PAPER TOWNS Movie Review

MollyBy MollyJuly 24, 2015Updated:August 5, 2015No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Paper Towns is the movie adaptation of John Green’s novel of the same name. And if you’re familiar with John Green’s novels, you’ll know that this is more a coming-of-age character piece than it is anything else, so you shouldn’t expect any action-packed sequences. Well, not really. And yes, there are quite a few teens in this movie.  In this Paper Towns movie review, I’ll talk about the good and the meh of it.

Given that, it is a nice combination of mystery, drama, comedy, and just a wink of romance. But don’t compare it to The Fault in Our Stars just because that’s the only other movie based off a John Green novel. This is a wholly different story, with wholly different characters, and wholly different feels.

Paper-Towns-movie-trailer-1

The story takes place in Orlando, Florida. Quentin “Q” Jacobsen has been pining for his next door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, for years, ever since they were about ten years old. Years later, they’re seniors in high school and they don’t even speak. However, one night, Margo goes to see him and they spend one fun-filled night together around the city. He thinks things are going to change. And they do. Just not like he’d expected.

The night in question is actually one of the highlights of the film, and this is where you really get to see how well the chemistry between Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne is. Cara’s Margo is the driving force, while Nat’s Q is the one being pulled in. Quentin’s attraction to Margo is almost pathetic and cute at the same time, and as the movie progresses, you see Q taking chances that he never would have before because of her. Margo becomes an obsession for Q, but also the catalyst for Q’s actions.

The second part of the film is another highlight as we get to see the interaction between Quentin and his friends develop. If you’re into people watching, that’s basically what this is like. You watch them talk and develop and grow and you see how they bond in certain ways. The whole movie is pretty much like that, especially when you see Quentin and his band friends Ben and Radar interact. It seemed an easy effort for Nat and co-stars Austin Abrams and Justice Smith to work together, as if they’d been doing it for years.

What’s great about these guys is that they actually seem to be acting like high school kids. They don’t walk around with an air of pretentiousness or act older than they are. They just are high school kids with the biggest concern being Prom.

PAPER TOWNS

I liked the film better than the book partly for that reason. Green, although a gifted writer, tends to write his characters as seemingly very pretentious, but in this film, it’s cut down greatly when it comes to Quentin and even Margo.

But the story is Quentin’s story and it’s a very unique journey for him in his final days of high school. The movie plays it out easily, but at the same time, I know this movie is not for everyone. There’s humor, but most of it is not laugh out loud funny. There’s drama, but not to the point where you’re brought to tears. And there’s adventure, but not nail-biting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat type of adventure. It’s the culmination of all these things that make it a good movie on a young man’s journey to finding more of himself, or more for himself, out in the world. It’s very realistic in that sense, which might be a little too bland for people to watch.

Nat Wolff as the main character was a wonderful choice. He shows Quentin as the awkward, vulnerable teen that he is, and is able to develop the character’s confidence in the film. He gets his chance to shine and does so at times.

As I said before, his co-stars Abrams and Smith, are commendable as the funny and likeable best friends to Q. And Halston Sage and Jaz Sinclair add some additional romantic and friendly chemistry for the boys, without it being sexualized.

paper-towns-exclusive

Lastly, Cara Delevingne as Margo Roth Spiegelman was pretty amazing. Although the actress is also a model, she lets all that go and just becomes Margo, and it works for her.

The story was sweet and well told, and the actors were good, if not great. However, I don’t believe this type of movie is for everyone, and those that did like The Fault in Our Stars might not like find this quite as enjoyable despite it being less mournful.

Grade: C+

Molly

Molly is a proud Canadian who is currently attending university in Scotland. She loves to read, write, watch films, and talk about Sarah J. Maas books. If not snuggled up with a book, Molly can usually be found tapping at the dance studio, or writing yet another essay.

Related Posts

Rachel Zegler joins THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES

May 31, 2022

Check out the official trailer for THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

May 31, 2022

The CHAIN OF THORNS Cover Stuns Shadowhunters Fans yet again in its reveal

May 19, 2022

Leave A Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Us on Social Media
  • Recent Posts
  • SDCC
  • Exclusives

Rachel Zegler joins THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES

May 31, 2022

Check out the official trailer for THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

May 31, 2022

The CHAIN OF THORNS Cover Stuns Shadowhunters Fans yet again in its reveal

May 19, 2022

Tom Blyth takes on the role of Coriolanus Snow in THE HUNGER GAMES Prequel

May 17, 2022

YA Fantasy Panel from Comic-Con@Home

July 28, 2020

Details and Author Appearances on Team Underlined Comic-Con@Home Panel

July 27, 2020

New cast members for Season 2 of HIS DARK MATERIALS

July 24, 2020

San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon Officially Canceled for 2020

April 17, 2020

Exclusive Interview with SHADES OF MAGIC VOL. 3: THE REBEL ARMY’s Author V.E. Schwab

July 14, 2020

A Look Back at NEW YORK COMIC CON: Photo Edition

November 19, 2019

Exclusive YALLfest Interview With Makiia Lucier

November 19, 2019

Exclusive Interview With THE HEART OF THE MOORS Author Holly Black

November 14, 2019
Tags
Beauty and the Beast book review book reviews Cassandra Clare Comic-Con Disney Disney live-action Fantastic Beasts Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Fear the Walking Dead Game of Thrones Harry Potter Jurassic World Love Simon Marie Lu Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Mockingjay Mockingjay Part 1 Mockingjay Part 2 New York Comic-Con NYCC optioned books Outlander Ready Player One Rogue One San Diego Comic-Con Sarah J. Maas SDCC SDCC 2018 Shadow and Bone Shadowhunters Shadowhunters season 2 Shadowhunters season 3 Star Wars Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stranger Things Supernatural The 100 The Dark Artifices The Fault in Our Stars The Hunger Games The Shadowhunter Chronicles The Walking Dead To All the Boys I've Loved Before Trailer
Meta
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Archives
About Us

TheFandom.net was launched December 26, 2011 by three fans of The Hunger Games. They had a vision to expand their love of the fandom to other fandoms and this is the result.

Our site is constantly flowing with the times and with the growing popularity of YA books and its relations in TV and movies.

Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.