This movie was everywhere when it came out and I tend to not love anything that is too loved by every one else. I'm glad I didn't watch it all the way back in 2014 because I know I would have not given it the chance it deserves just literally out of spite. Instead, I'm glad it's January 2019 and I'm procrastinating from studying for the exam that I have tomorrow, and felt like watching something inspiring. Well, I couldn't have picked a better film.

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't like the first act very much, I thought the dialogue was too cheesy and cliché, the timings weren't quite right and Shailene and Ansel were very much still warming up to their roles. However, something changed for me during the [spoiler] Amsterdam trip [/spoiler]. The film truly took on a life of its own, the message no longer had to be conveyed through forced dialogue, and finally showed through in the actions, the gestures, and the expressions of the characters, their relationships and their idea of self. Hazel and Augustus go from being just another cute couple in a REALLY sad love story like a gazillion stories we've seen before, to being truly special and real. The cliché bullshit just stops, or maybe they just finally settled in their roles well enough to not make it as cringey, or cringey at all. This film wasn't scared of taking risks, even though it was meant for a teen audience. Sure, it was romantic and beautiful and inspiring, but it did a good job of balancing that aspect of it with the bastard notion that we're all just going to f*cking die, and that we all have to learn to live with that fact. And that Hazel and Gus just had to learn to deal with it way sooner than anyone should have to.

Listen, maybe exam season has me feeling extra sensitive but this really spoke to me, that first act was the only reason I didn't give it a 10. Because the scene in [spoiler] Anne Frank's house where Hazel climbs all those stairs [/spoiler], god that scene alone is a 10 for me. It's also kinda great to see what Shailene and Ansel have done since this movie truly kicked off their careers, it gives me a weird sense of pride for them.

I guess, things that everyone loves, sometimes are actually good.

9/10

P.S.: who else was bothered by the fact Gus says in the [spoiler] eulogy he wrote for Hazel that at the hospital her hands were warm when in the "I love when you talk medical to me" scene they made a whole thing about her hands being freezing? Is it just something that isn't constant? I'd think it would be... [/spoiler] Oh well!