On February 12th, the second movie in the “To All The Boys” trilogy dropped on Netflix and raised one major question: Team John or Team Peter? 

It follows Lara Jean and Peter’s love story while also having a new love triangle by adding John Ambrose McClaren, a childhood friend, into the mix. However, it was not as memorable as the past movie. The first movie had an interesting plot line, while this one just seems like a grey storyline covered up by a sweet soundtrack and a colorful filter. 

Without revealing too many spoilers, I’ll dive right in.

Noah Centineo reprised his role as the teen heartthrob Peter Kavinsky. Surprisingly, many people, including myself, enjoyed his portrayal of the popular character. Centineo has been a victim of online haters, but his acting in the film redeemed him. It is because of this character that made him so popular. 

Jordan Fisher is a fan favorite this time around with his portrayal of Lara Jean’s sweet old friend John Ambrose. Many fans believe John Ambrose “deserved better” and in all honesty, I do too. Fisher carried the movie on his back. His relationship with Lara Jean had more chemistry during the piano scene alone than Peter and Lara Jean in the whole movie. 

Leading lady Lana Condor reprised her iconic role of Lara Jean Covey. Condor, of course, did an amazing job as the beloved character. 

However, this film underperformed while compared to its predecessor because it strayed too far from the story and it was full of the director’s poor choices. 

The storyline from the actual book had interesting plot lines and gave more information the reader could get hooked on. For example, the book included more information when it came to Lara Jean’s college application and her friendship with Stormy. The movie chopped almost all of that out. By straying from the original storyline, it was obvious the movie lacked something more. 

“It was underwhelming,” a viewer said. That pretty much sums up the overall feelings viewers had.

There was also a switch of directors which may be one of the reasons this movie lacked what the first one had. 

This director included a scene of Lara Jean lip syncing to a song during a sad scene which ruined the flow of the movie. 

Furthermore, one of the best parts of the story is the unbreakable bond the Covey sisters share. This movie threw that out the window. Margot was on Skype for one second and then never appeared again. Kitty defended her sister to summarize the first film and that was the most important thing she was given, other than her attempt to set up her father with their neighbor. 

Their bond was what made the movie and the books so memorable. The director treated the movie as if the only thing viewers care about is the boys and not the fact that Lara Jean had important family matters and extracurriculars. It felt like he believed viewers are more likely to relate to being stuck choosing between two hot guys rather than realistic female problems in today’s day and age. 

Ultimately why the movie is still a six is because it’s still an interesting love story despite its flaws. 

John Ambrose swept all the viewers off their feet, while Peter Kavinsky still managed to regain both Lara Jean and the audience right back in the end. The actors did their best, despite a problem that was truly out of their hands. 

My one question is: how did Jenny Han allow the movie to stray so far from her original storyline? 

This movie was a first for young female Asian American representation, and that was clearly shown in the first film. In the second film, it included the traditional Korean word “jung” and had a hanbok scene in the first 5 minutes; however, that was the only representation we saw during the 1 hour and 45 minutes it was on our screens. This film focused more on boy drama than the sisterly relationship and Korean culture that made the first movie unforgettable.

All in all, if you love the movies I definitely recommend the book series. Overall, the movie was a 6/10. However, despite the film’s flaws, it has an interesting storyline that keeps the viewers entertained and is necessary to understand the highly anticipated third movie “Always and Forever Lara Jean.”