The After Movies Ranked From Worst To Best (Including After We Fell)

The After movie series is a trilogy — but how do the romantic drama films compare to each other? Based on Anna Todd’s novel series by the same name, the After movies follow the tumultuous relationship of studious Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) and rebellious Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). The two young lovers must endure opposition from friends, diverting lives, and endless familial drama.

Following 2019’s After movie, the series features familiar romance tropes. When Tessa arrives for her freshman year of college, her life seems turned completely upside down. Things only get more complicated when Hardin Scott, a moody, Pride-and-Prejudice-book-reading bad boy, takes a romantic interest in her. Despite their attraction, their relationship is full of problems; Tessa struggles to trust Hardin, while Hardin has trouble reforming his own belligerence. The story continues in 2020’s After We Collided, and then the 2021 sequel After We Fell.

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The After movie series has been so successful that a fourth film, After Ever Happy, is already in production; however, audiences and critics have strongly different opinions on the After series. Despite poor reviews, audiences have continued to enjoy Tessa and Hardin’s story — the first film, After, received both a Teen Choice Award and an E! People’s Choice Award in 2019. Clearly, there is a lot of disparity concerning the After movie series, which provokes the question: which film in the franchise is the best, and which is the worst?

3. After We Fell

Unfortunately, the series’ third installment, After We Fell, has neither a coherent nor compelling plot. For the majority of the runtime, a single issue persists: Hardin is enraged by Tessa’s decision to move to Seattle for her new job. While the couple deals with Hardin’s anger issues, a handful of disjointed story threads occur: they meet Tessa’s long-lost father, Hardin’s mother gets remarried, and, in an unfounded twist, Hardin discovers who his real father is. The film misuses its cast and characters; Tessa especially lacks any kind of purpose in the movie, while Hardin has lost the humility he learned over the previous two films. Overall, After We Fall is frustrating, certainly the worst of the After series, so far.

2. After

For the beginning of such an intense relationship, After is relatively unremarkable. While After changes book elements for the better, it lacks strong drama. The film’s opening act is solid, establishing Tessa as a sheltered fish-out-of-water whose attraction to Hardin goes against her base principles. Unfortunately, the rest of the film fails to provide any particular appeal. While the chemistry between Tessa and Hardin grows significantly by the end, both the characters remain fairly undeveloped. The film’s climactic twist falls short of its intended impact; by keeping the dare that started their relationship a secret, the build-up to their break-up is weakened. The film can get exhausting at times, but Langford’s performance shines as After‘s sole spark.

1. After We Collided

Featuring a refreshingly straight-laced Dylan Sprouse, After We Collided takes place one month after the first film’s break-up, as Tessa excels at her internship at a publishing company while Hardin punishes himself for his deceit. The pair do reunite, and Hardin confronts his past trauma that stunts their compatibility. Surprisingly, the film sheds the original’s chaste drama format, becoming a scandalous romantic comedy. This is to the film’s benefit; the film has an enjoyable, though confused, mix of extreme drama and light laughs. Though the plot is badly paced and falls apart at the climax, the film provides an engaging look into a wild romance. While After We Collided is not a very coherent movie, it fulfills its purpose satisfactorily: it’s a fun and enthralling escapist experience, and easily the best in the After movie series.

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