You know what to expect before going into this: a star-crossed romance for lovers from different worlds, kisses in the rain, flashbacks, moonlight swims, fateful separations and the tragic death of at least one leading character.The scenery along the way is beautiful though and I enjoyed both the leads James Marsden & Michelle Monaghan but the story is pretty bland and I would say this in one of the weaker Nicholas sparks adaptions.It follows Amanda and Dawson, soul mates who met as teens, joining them decades later after they are torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. They of course have never forgotten each other and get a second chance when the passing of an old friend sees them "willed" back to his house to fulfill his final wishes. As they get reacquainted we flashback to them as teens, which was strangely done . It was meant to be 1993 but for some reason the director had it in his head to make it appear like the 1950's, with flouncy poodle skirts, drive ins and just a general feel. Honestly I won't remember this in about weeks time.

This movie is so f*cking predictable. Just imagine the worst that could happen in key moments of the movie and you know exactly what's going to happen next. Although that's something most of the romantic movies have, this time it's just too much. Especially for a movie with this rating.

As a 29-year old male, "The Best Of Me" was not a movie I would typically watch. But, it just happened to be "let someone else pick the movie for a change" night and so I gave it a try. While it isn't an outright horrible flick, it was exactly what I expected...and that's not why I watched movies.For a basic plot summary, "Best of Me" tells the story of Amanda (Michelle Monaghan) & Dawson (James Marsden), two 30-something adults brought back to their mutual hometown by the death of a friend. As they get re-acquainted, their romantic backstory is shown via flashbacks, with Young Amanda (Liano Liberato) and Young Dawson (Luke Bracey) navigating the trials of young love. Back in the present, the two must reconcile the lives that were with the lives that are.The trouble with this movie is that it is exactly as predictable and sappy as one would think...nothing more, nothing less. If you are a sucker for these types of movies and like to know what to expect when going in, than you will probably love this type of film-making. However, if you want a few genuine surprises and relationships that don't feel like they are being heavy manipulated to stimulate tears and tug on the heartstrings, than you should probably stay away.An interesting thought when it comes to Nicholas Sparks book-to-film translations: I don't have any "hard numbers" to back me up on this, of course, but I think it is a pretty safe bet that "The Notebook" has best the most well-received. I know young and old (and many in between) who have thoroughly enjoyed that flick. The reason? It was first. Everything after that has kind of been a different variation on the same theme: sappy romance with large doses of tragedy. I wonder if perhaps the novelty is wearing a bit thin with films like this one.That being said, it seems like there are easily enough people who like this formula and will continue to populate theaters for it. If you are able to take everything strictly at face value and not think too much, I can see how it would be very possible to get swept away in the dramatic experience. Nothing wrong with that...but not my cup of tea by a mile.

I rarely hate the first half of a movie so much that i have to turn it off. The mistake i made with this movie was to trust the cinematography quality was a reflection that there was better material to come in the second half of the movie, like maybe better compared to the awful script, acting and casting of the earlier part. Somehow IMDb ratings average 6.6. This is the first joke. There's a 25 year old muscle guy acting as a 17/18 year old school kid, some redneck stereotypes, a boring as hell rich-girl-likes-a-bad-boy storyline, and just the most ugly and predictable storyline I have almost ever seen. I feel bad for the two older actors james marsden and michelle monaghan who have done good stuff in other movies. Why this movie was made I don't know. What a joke.