The Fault in Our Stars

I went in with low expectations and got exactly what I imagined upfront. This is a cheesy, overly sentimental, illness-driven teen romance. It tried so hard to make me feel and care, that it ended up making me indifferent to the plight of the two lead characters. Not what you want from this type of film.

Hazel is diagnosed with terminal cancer, but an experimental treatment is giving her family some hope. Hazel herself fears committing to something pointless, until she meets Gus. He's a cancer survivor, and the two hit it off. While Gus is clear about his intentions, Hazel still tries to keep her distance.

It's been a staple of Japanese romance for almost two decades now, this US take on the genre isn't adding anything new to it. There's a dumb twist, lots of cringy dialogue, and two leads who lack chemistry. And while the film is also way too long, it's still an easy watch. Not the worst of its kind, but I didn't care for it.