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Half-hearted narrative, no chemistry - Why After Everything is a massive failure when compared to the previous 'After' films

Starring Fiennes Tiffin and Josephine Langford, who reprise their characters as Hardin Scott and Tessa Young, the romantic drama film, After Everything is a forgettable installment. Here's why....

Arshi Khanam
Feb 17, 2024
After Everything: The Final Chapter Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Josephine Langford
After Everything is clearly a dud when compared to the successful earlier films in the series. The final and fifth installment of Anna Todd’s novel series adaptation was released on Netflix in February, but the hype that was created before its OTT premiere dimmed rapidly as it missed the Top 10 spots.Starring Fiennes Tiffin and Josephine Langford, who reprise their characters as Hardin Scott and Tessa Young, the romantic drama film has quickly become a forgettable content on the streaming platform. Let’s dive into some of the reasons for this.

After Everything has a half-hearted and flawed narrative

Every year since 2019, Hardin and Tessa’s troubled yet fixable love story has served as a perfect dose for movie enthusiasts. However, the one that disappointed me the most was the highly anticipated latest film. After 5's narrative revolves around Hardin’s point of view. Despite speculations that the last part is a total disaster, some true fans waited eagerly for the movie to release on Netflix. But to everyone's chagrin, After Everything has a half-hearted and flawed narrative.Also Read: After Everything The Final Chapter review – Castille Landon gives the perfect happily-ever-after but we’ve a grouseBesides Lisbon’s scenic locations, it's a good thing that After Everything: The Final Chapter is the last film in the series, because even if there is another one, it wouldn't be able to do damage control. Many fans were sulking after news broke that the 2023 movie will not have much of Tessa’s story and less screen time for Josephine Langford. However, some die-hard fans of the franchise still waited for months to witness Hardin’s narrative after his heartbreaking separation from Tessa in the fourth part, titled ‘After Ever Happy.’

A lack of magical chemistry

So, what went wrong? I would like to say everything, but let’s skip that because of the 15-minute happy ending that made up for the otherwise loosely packed narrative and shallow characters. Despite a new female character, Nathalie (played by Sex Education fame Mimi Keene), who has a deep connection with the hot-headed Hardin, it doesn’t add any depth or significance to his personal growth, nor do the actors share any magical chemistry like we witnessed with Hero and Josephine.
Also read - Before ‘After Everything,’ here’s a quick recap of the previous 4 'After' installments and where you can watch themMaybe the success mantra for the previous films in the After franchise was the mystical and sensuous chemistry between the lead characters, Hardin and Tessa. Their relationship may be dubbed toxic, but they still influenced millions to root for 'Hessa' on social media.Crystal-clear blue oceans and a few sentimental dialogue exchanges between Hardin and his biological father, Vance, add some value to After 5. Apart from the happy ending with Hardin’s family, there isn’t much to offer.

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Written and directed by Castille Landon, After Everything is a complete mess, but just for the sake of completing the franchise, you can watch it on Netflix.

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