Sparks' devoted following knows what it wants, and The Best of Me does not relent until it has delivered every last longing look, lovelorn lunge and lachrymose loss of luck.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 26, 2020

I actually kind of enjoyed it.

| May 27, 2020

It's achieving exactly what it set out to accomplish... but also it's very bad.

| Original Score: 6.5/10 | Mar 26, 2020

The waterworks will flow with The Best of Me. The best Nicholas Sparks adaptation to date.

| Dec 14, 2019

Predictable. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 17, 2019

There isn't anything breathtaking about it and a lot of it feels like we're following the same beaten path, but James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan seem to make the best of their cheesy lines and talk about destiny.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2018

Regardless of the improbabilities that the plot will pose... there is a problem in the casting. [Full review in Spanish]

| Dec 4, 2017

Anyone who hides behind the "chick flick" defense on this one is kidding themselves. The Best of Me is a contrived manipulation and an insult to female sensibilities.

Full Review | Nov 28, 2017

The film has a lot of hidden messages like these, which unfortunately get overshadowed by an overdose of mush and superficial love scenes that get massive footage.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 11, 2017

You know what to expect: a star-crossed romance for lovers from different worlds, kisses in the rain, moonlight swims, fateful separations and the tragic death of at least one leading character.

| Feb 28, 2015

The Best of Me's chemistry lives in the idea of a second chance at first love - would you take it if you could? - but not between the actors, unfortunately.

| Original Score: D+ | Jan 9, 2015

I would be amazed to hear even the most ardent Sparks fan defend it as anything more than rubbish.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Nov 1, 2014

The Best of Me turns into a half-baked dramatic thriller, with violent confrontations, gunfights, plenty of nasty characters and one big scary action scene.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 31, 2014

This film could be a real tearjerker for Sparks fans; everyone else may find it tough to stomach.

| Oct 31, 2014

There's something heavy-handed, even for Sparks, in the telling of the couple's story, particularly when it comes to Dawson's family: they are leering, brutal embodiments of evil who function as handy plot devices.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 29, 2014

A rather typical Nicholas Sparks adaptation...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 28, 2014

Grab a tissue and get ready to have your heartstrings tugged in this Nicholas Sparks melodrama, replete with its elements of love and loss....The perfect date movie, the film is romantic in the purest sense

| Oct 24, 2014

The Best Of Me, like all Sparks' work, would rather kill his characters and leave a beautiful corpse than have them continue a real, scarred relationship.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 22, 2014

Dawson is called a "white trash piece of (poo)" by his own daddy, which is rich, because daddy -- a low-rent bayou criminal with a mean dog on a chain, a shanty tramp on his lap and jet-black dye on his hair -- actually is a white trash piece of (poo).

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 20, 2014

Welcome the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation: always the same, always a bit different (but mostly the same).

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 20, 2014