Fortunately, as I watched it on its opening day here in my country last Thursday, the movie did the book justice. From the characters, to the storyline up to the music, the movie did a great job in delivering one of Green's best literary work into the big screen.
The movie tells the story of two sick teenagers who met at a support group and found chemistry in each other despite having different interests and outlooks in life. Hazel, diagnosed with thyroid cancer and metastasis, have come to terms with her disease and have adjusted with the way of life even if that means having to carry around an oxygen tank and have tubes up against her nose just so she could breathe. She is quite close with her parents who have supported her all the way. Augustus, or Gus, is also a cancer victim and is sporting one fake leg but he is more outgoing and one of his main goals in life is to be remembered by everybody. He is a gamer and likes to read zombie and action films while Hazel would rather read her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction.
As Hazel and Gus get to know more of each other and their interests, we see them grow closer to each other. The theater was fully packed, mostly by fan girls and all the gushes, laughs and tears were heard clearly.
The movie has plenty of things that people will root for but it's mostly the characters who help the story move forward. Shailene Woodley plays Hazel and despite my disdain for her acting skills, she executes a decent job opposite Ansel Elgort who plays Gus and does a convincing execution of his character as many girls are swooning over him everywhere right now. Coincidentally, they have played as brother and sister in their previously released film this year, Divergent. Ansel has the perfect combination of wit and charisma that just displays on screen effortlessly. Nat Wolff plays Isaac, Gus' best friend and a typical funny sidekick who is a bright spot in the film with his funny remarks in his scenes while playing a teenager battling a defect in his vision. The cast is also supported by Laura Dern, Sam Trammell and Willem Dafoe.
One of the highlights of the film is its soundtrack. One review even said that this will be the soundtrack of the current generation. Though I believe that is a overstatement, many people have indeed pointed out the film's excellent choice in its song selections. The soundtrack includes the likes of Birdy, Lykke Li, Jake Bugg, Kodaline, Tom Odell, Grouplove, Ed Sheeran and M83, whom I believe has one of the most standout tracks in the film with their song "Wait". They have been the perfect soundtrack artists so far, giving life not just in this movie but in others, particularly Divergent.
I won't be surprised if we see more John Green novels come into life as another one of his novels is already in production for a movie release. This may also be Elgort and Woodley's easy ticket to fame. I would definitely recommend this film.
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