By Ryan Wilson

From school trips across the country to the dreading fear of college decisions, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever” ties the beloved series together while trying to capture the changes that come with coming of age in love.

The final movie in the Netflix series was released on Feb. 12. If you have not read the novels written by Jenny Han or haven’t watched the other two movies, the series is about the romantic relationship between Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo).

Overall, the movie was a nice ending to the series, but it felt like it was just missing something: the touch of romance.

As a true hopeless romantic, the romantic gestures and fun dates throughout the movie are very cute and sentimental, but they cannot compare to the ones in the first movie. After rewatching the entire series, I felt the romantic spark that was being portrayed was starting to fizzle out as the main characters got older. The main characters start to get less romantic and affectionate the longer you watch the movie. It felt like the movie really tried to accurately represent real relationships, but, overall, it just seemed a bit cheesy and cliche when the couple started to have relationship problems.

This final movie within the series did not seem to be as memorable or exciting as the previous two movies. It did not give me the romantic butterflies that “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” the first installment did. This film focused more on the problems that come with making life changing decisions about leaving home while being in a relationship.

The big dilemma in this movie is the change that comes with graduating high school and the separations that come with it. Covey and Kavinsky both realized that they were going on different paths. Where am I going to go to college? How are we going to make our relationship work? Will long-distance work? It seemed that questions like those kept popping up in the heads of the main characters throughout the movie.

While the movie does a really nice job of keeping you on your toes about Covey and Kavinsky’s relationship, I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for something awful or spectacular to happen.

The costumes were very similar to the first two movies, very simple, but bright and colorful. The camera work was pretty generic and similar to the first two movies. It was not anything quite spectacular.

Within the series, there is always one song that has a special meaning to the characters. They are always very catchy, especially in this one. The special meaningful song in this movie is “Beginning Middle End” by The Greeting Committee. It has been stuck in my head ever since the movie ended.

“I guess that’s what happens when you grow up. Everything gets all mixed up together,” Lara Jean said towards the end of the movie.

That one line really encapsulates what I took away from watching this movie. It was a mixed-up, not-so-perfect movie that truly ended the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series in an adequate way.

Overall, if you are a true romantic at heart and love the other movies in the series, you may be disappointed. While it is very different from the first two, and will not be as romantic as you expect, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever” is a teenage love story that is worth the watch.

Rating: 4 out of 5

_Edited by Chloe Konrad | ckonrad@themaneater.com_