Marked Men

This has always been one of my favorite books, and I'd been eagerly waiting for years for it to be turned into a movie. Unfortunately, the adaptation was a huge disappointment. Within just the first three minutes, I was already frustrated. The book's storyline was near perfect, and if I were the author, I'd feel completely betrayed by how they twisted and ruined it for the screen. I understand that adaptations don't always follow the source material exactly, but after this experience, I wouldn't bother watching any more adaptations of thesd books. I paused the movie so many times to text my friends about all the changes, and they all shared my frustration.

I suppose it's my own fault but when I saw this I thought it might be a gangster thriller. Nope, it's about the on-off relationship between tattoo artist "Rule" (Chase Stokes) and his friend "Shaw" (Sydney Taylor). She used to date his brother "Remy" but we quickly learn that he was involved in a car accident with his brother and so now we have our requisite dose of family baggage to explain why "Rule" is a bit of a commitment-phobe. Meantime, she is supposed to be dating millionaire drip "Gabe" (Michael Bradway) to keep her rather wealthy but venal mother sweet, but in the end it's her bit of rough that she really craves. Can they sort things out and get past his fear of being called her boyfriend? There's the odd bit of sensitively photographed sex and it does pay slight homage to the artistry of some creative tattooists but for the most part it's a weakly constructed romantic will they/won't they drama that didn't really engage me at all. There is plenty of eye-candy on offer, including from the sparingly used, wooden as a picket fence, Alexander Ludwig as his elder brother "Rome" and Ella Balinska tries to inject a little bit of life into things as her best pal "Ayden" but neither Stokes nor Taylor do anything like enough with the, admittedly pedestrian, script or the story to bring this to life. Quite how it got a general release in the UK is, as Yul Brynner might have said, "a puzzlement ". It looks good and there are a few power ballads to help it along, but it's really just a mediocre television movie, sorry.

I can't believe this movie is directed by Nick Cassavetes, the legend that directed mastepieces like Alpha dog and The Notebook.

Then i've checked who wrote the script..the same person that wrote the lame scripts of After 3 and 4.

I have to be honest, the script is flat it has no big substance that's why the characters are weak, definitely not actor's fault (even if Inanna again with that meangirl attitude...please move on).

It is not a drama, not a romance so i'mo wondering what it is. The story don't flow well as should like there's no plot to follow and we jump from one thing to the other. I do not feel the family dynamics and i don't feel any development of the characters.

The themes in the book should be taken more seriously and I'm giving a 6 only because of the third part of the movie.

A praise to the one in charge of costumes.

Definitely missed the mark of what the book encompassed. They twisted what made their relationship so hard and yet so rewarding by making it more fluff. They left out how important their history was and how that really ruled Rule and his actions. Both families dynamics, which play a major role in their relationship was completely changed to more fluff. There was not character arc to be found. Both remained flat and you don't understand why they would or wouldn't be together to begin with. It followed the books in the most basic sense of bad boy tattooist and good girl looking for a wild ride. But the story line was difficult to follow and didn't flow well. Not the actors fault. They work with what they got. But the essence of the story was no where to be found.

Marked Men is a new romantic drama by Nick Cassavetes, director of The Notebook and The Other Woman. The film is based on the book written by Jay Cownover.

Shaw Landon (Sydney Taylor) has had his eye on Rule Archer (Chase Stokes) since they first met. Rule is just a more rebellious tattoo artist, who doesn't really seem to have time for a serious relationship, especially not with a more hearty girl like Shaw.

After a party and getting to know each other over a beer, they take on the challenge and try to start a relationship despite their opposites. The two now just have to learn how to maintain this relationship without changing or ruining each other.

The author of the book starts with a bit of a cliché direction with an "impossible" romance between a more innocent girl and a bad boy. Which makes for a mysterious relationship. THE adaptation of the book to this film is done appropriately, but remains more fun for connoisseurs and lovers of the book. For other viewers it remains more of a standard romantic drama that remains on the predictable side with the standard clichés.

Sydney Taylor and Chase Stokes play their roles faithfully to how they come across in the book, but as actors they lack a confirmed chemistry.