From the outside, The Age of Adaline looks like a typical sappy romance that is purely made just so guys can take their girlfriends to see it and have a nice time. However, I had been seeing higher reviews than your typical Nicholas Sparks adaptation, so I decided to give it a try. After viewing it I realized that I never should have raised my expectations.
Now is this a bad film? Definitely not. There are plenty of good things I have to say before I start nitpicking. One of which is the acting, especially by Harrison Ford. I got some raw emotion from him that I really liked, and every scene he was in felt authentic. Blake Lively was also very good in a role that is hard to pull off. I believed that she was over one hundred years old throughout the movie which is in thanks to that performance. One person I found myself in the middle on was Michiel Huisman. I felt like he was just there, and near the end I wanted to see more emotion from him but I didn't get it.
I also loved the look and feel of this film. At times it felt like a love letter to San Francisco, which is definitely not a flaw. I have not seen any other of Lee Toland Krieger's movies, but I liked the direction in this film, so it's disappointing that he will move on to helm the final chapter of the Divergent series. Ugh.
On that note, let's get into the nitpicking portion of the review. The majority of the problems I have with this film are with the screenplay. There were times where it seriously dragged on, and I found my mind wandering during the middle of the movie. I also found myself getting sick of the main romance about a third of the way through the movie. The saving grace for me was the plot line involving Harrison Ford's character which made me care a lot more about what was going on.
The one HUGE complaint I have involves the explanation of why Adaline can't age. I won't give anything away, but I will say that it is the most cliché route that they could have possibly taken. I groaned at the resolution of this film. That's how bad it was.
However, if you don't look for that stuff in movies, than don't let this review stop you from seeing this if you are a fan of the genre. If you are looking for an intricately woven plot line and an original, transcendent storyline, than this may not be the one for you. But if you are looking for a nice, cozy film to sit down with your boyfriend/girlfriend and enjoy than The Age of Adaline is definitely a perfect choice.
I give The Age of Adaline 5/10 stars.
Now is this a bad film? Definitely not. There are plenty of good things I have to say before I start nitpicking. One of which is the acting, especially by Harrison Ford. I got some raw emotion from him that I really liked, and every scene he was in felt authentic. Blake Lively was also very good in a role that is hard to pull off. I believed that she was over one hundred years old throughout the movie which is in thanks to that performance. One person I found myself in the middle on was Michiel Huisman. I felt like he was just there, and near the end I wanted to see more emotion from him but I didn't get it.
I also loved the look and feel of this film. At times it felt like a love letter to San Francisco, which is definitely not a flaw. I have not seen any other of Lee Toland Krieger's movies, but I liked the direction in this film, so it's disappointing that he will move on to helm the final chapter of the Divergent series. Ugh.
On that note, let's get into the nitpicking portion of the review. The majority of the problems I have with this film are with the screenplay. There were times where it seriously dragged on, and I found my mind wandering during the middle of the movie. I also found myself getting sick of the main romance about a third of the way through the movie. The saving grace for me was the plot line involving Harrison Ford's character which made me care a lot more about what was going on.
The one HUGE complaint I have involves the explanation of why Adaline can't age. I won't give anything away, but I will say that it is the most cliché route that they could have possibly taken. I groaned at the resolution of this film. That's how bad it was.
However, if you don't look for that stuff in movies, than don't let this review stop you from seeing this if you are a fan of the genre. If you are looking for an intricately woven plot line and an original, transcendent storyline, than this may not be the one for you. But if you are looking for a nice, cozy film to sit down with your boyfriend/girlfriend and enjoy than The Age of Adaline is definitely a perfect choice.
I give The Age of Adaline 5/10 stars.