Numbers obtained from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes on September 7, 2015.
My rating IMDb Rotten Tomatoes
Critics Audience Critics Audience
7/10 56/100 6.9/10 55% 57%
Adaptations from bestsellers are always surrounded by expectations, especially if the previous book adapted by the same author was a huge success. This is the problem that Paper Towns faced, since it’s following The Fault in Ours Stars, which had a great adaptation to the screen last year. So, audiences who saw The Fault in Our Stars before reading the book, probably thought that Paper Towns would be as good, even without reading it.
I’ve read both, before the movies were released, and maybe that’s why I already had lower expectations about the movie adaptation of Paper Towns. John Green’s novel takes place in Orlando and tells the story of Quentin (Nat Wolff), who is a senior in high school and is fascinated by his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne). She always gives the impression that her life is more interesting than anybody else’s and constantly has stories full of adventures to tell. One night, however, she invites Quentin to join her in one of these adventures, even though they hadn’t spoken in years. After this night, when she decides to “right some wrongs”, she disappears, leaving Quentin wondering where she is.
Honestly, what made me keep reading the book was my curiosity to find out (i) what “paper towns” were and (ii) what happened to Margo and why she disappeared. We learn the answer to the first question during Quentin’s search for Margo. The latter question, however, is quite an anti-climax. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t too excited about the film and thought it was a little long… I was watching it mainly to see if the adaptation was similar to the book. And it is! Of course there are a few differences, to make the pacing smoother.
I also enjoyed the cast, even though a lot of people were complaining about Cara Delevingne being cast as Margo. I don’t think she was the problem. Actually, the problem of the movie, which is the same as the book’s, is that we think the characters will be complex and interesting but, as it turns out, they are not as different as advertised. Therefore, it’s an enjoyable movie, but not nearly as good as The Fault in Our Stars.
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