More than I was expecting

Rating: 7/10 (24 August 2014)

Having read the book, I went into the movie prepared to be disappointed, as many (if not most) book-to-movies tend to leave me. I left the theater pleasantly surprised and shockingly satisfied. Not every book can be a good movie and as such, parts were added or embellished. The acting/directing is cheesy and poorly done in some scenes, namely the death scenes and some of the romance, but overall, the acting was phenomenal. Blackley, Leonard, and Enos each played their roles perfectly, even better than Forman had created them in my opinion. Moretz, though a fantastic Mia, didn't seem to fit right in a few scenes which I'd tack up to poor directing.
As a movie: 6.5-7/10 It's a good tear-jerker but, again, the directing leaves much to be desired. The 'sad' scenes are a little dry, the romance scenes were cheesy or embellished, and, for a movie about musicians, some of the soundtrack was either hard to listen to or extremely out of place. The bright spot was the acting which was fantastic on all fronts except for a couple extras (the nurse Ramirez character and most of the hospital staff). Each of the band tracks were pretty good even though I'm not much a fan of pop/punk. I wouldn't necessarily buy the DVD but I'd recommend the trip to the cinema.
Compared to the book: 10/10 As I said before, a good book isn't necessarily a good movie so if you're a purist, hopefully you're an open minded purist. Each character, even Mia, was perfectly played. Kat, Denny, Adam, Kim and Gramps were much better characters in the movie than their slightly drab book counterparts. The character development was better even through the added/deleted scenes. The bonfire scene had the audience humming and quietly tapping. The death scenes were poorly done but still emotionally striking. Each memory was included though some were changed (drastically) and some were added. Overall, the movie was actually just as good, if not better than the book in just about every way.