Purple Hearts

I didn't have high expectations for this, but I ended up actually kind of enjoying it. The story itself is sweet, I liked the tension between the main characters. The acting was great and the pacing was pretty good too. It was a little predictable, but nothing too bad.

The two main characters obviously had some differences in opinions and values, but still ended up falling for each other. This is sweet and all, but I just hoped they had explored that more. I mean, their values are in direct conflict, because they're literally the opposite from each other. And they never seemed to find any common ground, there was no chemistry in their conversations. This all made the ending feel a little unbelievable.

I had very low expectations going into this. It had its charming moments, sparks of sincerity that helped make up for the silly tropes about gun-crazy marines and woke bartending musicians. But overall, it was 2 hours of somewhat soulless storytelling.

Also, why on earth do producers feel the need to over-produce vocals? I have no idea what Sofia Carson sounds like in real life because her voice is always so tampered with. It didn't sound pleasant or realistic.

Nicholas Galitzine is excellent in every movie I've seen of his, but I feel like he's never gotten the right role in the right movie at the right time to propel him to the proper level of success and status which he deserves. I don't want to get into the negative opinions I have about this movie. I think its flaws are apparent, and I don't think it's necessary to drag down the hard work everyone clearly did. I just wish Nicholas was given a meatier role in a A-list project, so more people could appreciate his talent.

Didn't know the actors. (I'm Australian, cut me some slack) Sounded like a dud rom-com.

I'm a 54 yr old grumpy male. This is not my usual genre.

But as I'm recovering from Covid I found myself having a little pity party.

So that's my excuse for venturing into this movie.

Well, I can say it brightened my day (week) ten-fold.

Sofia Carson was brilliant. Her singing and song choices reminded me of Lady Gaga/Pink .

Don't you just love it when you take a punt on a movie and it just blows you away.

Terrific acting, great, and surprisingly good story line.

Yes, it fits in the rom-com category, but it offers much, much more.

Formulaic? Absolutely.

Did it pioneer new territory? No.

But beyond that did it check the marks for the genre? Yes.

Two leads that devour the camera, have realistic (current) differences and evolve. And most importantly- it doesn't overthink itself. It's a story about two people that find their way. And that's enough for me- and should be for nearly anyone of the genre.

Heck- the soundtrack was great (kudos) as and added bonus.