The Last Song (film) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The Last Song was panned by critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, gives the film an average of 4/10 and a rating of 20% based on 116 reviews. The critical consensus is summarized: "As shamelessly manipulative as any Nicholas Sparks production, The Last Song is done no favors by its miscast and over matched star, Miley Cyrus." Metacritic, which assigns normalized ratings to films, The Last Song holds a "generally unfavorable" score of 33% based on 27 reviews.

Reviewers were critical of Sparks' and Van Wie's screenplay and formulaic storyline. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle says the screenplay's faults include several "scenes that make no emotional sense" and claims, "The plot construction is weak. Incidents don't flow one into the next." When reviewing Cyrus's performance, critics acknowledged her stage presence, but were frequently critical of her acting abilities. Jay Stone of The Ottawa Citizen says Cyrus's portrayal of angry Ronnie "consist of pouting and sneering Cyrus doesn't have a lot of range, but she does have presence." Rob Nelson of Variety writes, "Cyrus, alas, hasn't yet learned not to act But she does show off her considerable chops as a pianist and remains reasonably likable throughout." A. O. Scott of The New York Times believes that although "her Hannah Montana persona has a certain aggressive charm", in The Last Song she "play-act rather than exploring the motives and feelings of her character." Roger Ebert gave the film a mixed 2.5/4. He praised the acting and directing, but derided the plot and Sparks's writing.

Kinnear's performance has been widely praised. A. O. Scott writes, "it’s nice to see Mr. Kinnear play an entirely sympathetic character for a change his slyness and subtlety seem wasted in a project that has no interest in either." Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune writes, "Reliably honest and affecting, fights off the waves of corn in much the same way that Tibetan monk defied the tsunami in 2012." Glen Whipp of the Associated Press writes, "Kinnear lends the movie a dignity it doesn't deserve". Stone advises, "I'd watch out for Liam Hemsworth". Stephen Witty of The Star-Ledger commends "newcomer Carly Chaikin plays the "bad girl" with an exciting mixture of wildness and vulnerability. Halfway in, I began wishing desperately that Chaikin was playing the lead." Reception for Coleman was mixed; Jeff Vice of "Deseret News" calls him a "hammy irritant" while Jon Bream of the Star Tribune writes, "The most memorable acting is by Coleman, 12 gets a lot of great lines and delivers them with aplomb". Despite the negative reviews from critics, the movie was well received from fans and audiences with a 66% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and with an average of a 7/10.