Movie Review
The era of turning erotic novels into movies seems to be over, as fans and audiences are more inclined to watch stories that have a lasting impact as opposed to sexual ones. However, with time comes some shows and movies that always have one and only selling point – love scenes. That’s exactly what the films in the After film series are all about, and its second installment, After We Collided, is no different.
After We Collided is based on the second novel in the After series and follows Tessa and Hardy’s relationship after the events of the first part. Tessa is heartbroken when she learns that Hardy only met her for a bet and was set up by her friends. She breaks up with Hardin and cuts off all contact with him before starting a job in publishing.
As she moves between making a name for herself and working on her future goals, she finds herself drawn to her colleague Trevor. However, Hardin is determined to win Tessa over as he tries to treat her better than he has in the past. This movie is not that bad, plot wise, but the execution style in the movie is a shame.
Tessa and Hardin fight, they make out for a while, Hardin apologizes and promises to be better for her, they have sex, and the cycle continues. One is bound to get tired of their fighting and reconciling throughout the series. I hate that Dylan Sprouse’s potential isn’t being used to its fullest potential as Trevor is introduced as Tessa’s counterpart.
Her presence in the film was only as good as the spin-off, and it didn’t give the audience any depth as to how Tessa gained her confidence thanks to her help in the books. Many of the “After” books were long and detailed, which was lost in the movies.
As most film adaptations of popular books go, many plot points were missed and Hardy’s friends were completely ignored in the film series, especially Zed and Tessa’s storyline, which I still resent. After We Collided tries to jump from one plot point to the next and ends up falling flat due to poor performances from most of the supporting cast.
How some of the actors associated with the project were replaced in later films doesn’t help the audience feel disconnected from the characters. The hero Fiennes does a pretty good job as Tiffin Hardin, but his character isn’t just a good person, which makes it hard for the audience to justify most of his actions.
Viewers who have read the books know why Hardy gets so angry when things don’t go his way. The novels make it easier for readers to sympathize with Hardy because they know the traumas he faced as a child. If the audience looked at the books as a whole and then wrote their own screenplay based on that, the story would work out pretty well.
By showing the audience that young Hardy had a traumatic event, it would be easier for viewers to understand his alcohol addiction and anger issues. As for Tessa’s character, without showing any background to her relationship with her father, the audience is introduced to her character all of a sudden.
It would really help us to see how close the younger Tessa is to her father who one day decides to leave her with her mother. The OST of After We Collide is kind of tolerable, and so is the cinematography.
Overall
In this film, as in the last film, Hardin and Tessa are stuck like a broken record. They hide something from each other, fight and then have make-up sex. It’s as chaotic as After We Collided, and it doesn’t help that the fifth After movie is coming out this year, which promises to be just as chaotic as the others.