Miley Cyrus fans might hate me for saying this, but the makers of "The Last Song" should have hired a real actress for the lead role. Miley obviously doesn't have the talent or know how to act. I had nothing against her, but in this, the first role I've seen her act in, it seemed like she was just playing herself and not playing any part that was written for her.

That said, "The Last Song" is a bust. It's a set of tired old recycled and clichéd experiences and really isn't worth the 107 minutes it takes to watch it. For the most part the storyline is so tired and old. And after watching it I was also disappointed that Greg Kinnear had signed up for it. That I can remember, I've always liked his acting and the roles he chose. But in this case, the writing was so, so poor that even if the makers of "The Last Song" signed up the best actors in Hollywood it couldn't save this film. They'd have to find some writers who were at a minimum mediocre-ish in order to improve this story.

All I can say is save yourself and watch something else.

I saw this movie for two reasons. One is that it is based on a book by Nicholas Sparks. The other is the wonderful Greg Kinnear. I will be frank, the book is much more engrossing emotionally and the characters and story are far more believable. The Last Song isn't completely unwatchable. Greg Kinnear is brilliant and definitely the best asset of the film, the film does look good with pleasant scenery and cinematography and the soundtrack is tolerable.

However, I didn't find myself connecting to any of the characters except for Steve or their situations. Here, the characters are quite clichéd and I found myself frustrated with the titular character so many times. The story is weak and predictable and the script is poor too with any attempt at evoking emotion feeling uncomfortably forced.

The direction is lacking and the pace is sluggish. The acting apart from Kinnear is hardly noteworthy, I do not like Miley Cyrus and I never found her acting and her attempts to come across as sympathetic and honest believable at all. Out of all the movies based on Sparks' books, which includes the wonderful Notebook, surprisingly decent Dear John and the touching Message in a Bottle, The Last Song is my least favourite. On a positive note, it did have one or two good assets which altogether made it better than it could have been. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Ronnie (Miley Cyrus) and her little brother Jonah are staying with their father Steve Miller (Greg Kinnear) in his beach house for the summer. The rebellious teen is not happy and feels out of place. She got in trouble for shoplifting in NYC. She makes a frienenemy in Blaze (Carly Chaikin),and catches the eye of local Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth). When she tries to save some turtles, she and Will starts a summer romance. He's trying to move on from a loss and she reconnects with music. The local girls aren't too happy. Meanwhile everybody still blames her father for burning down the church.

It's not a particularly original teen rom-com to start. It's a little too light and too sappy. Then as in all Nicholas Sparks novels, this must have some melodrama. Somebody must die or be already dead! Miley Cyrus is a perfectly fine grumpy teen. Liam Hemsworth is the hot young beach dude. The two leads are nice likable kids. Nobody is winning any acting awards here, but it's a fine little teen melodramatic soap start. However the turn does nothing particularly compelling except to let the little air out of the story. The only hope is to have Liam and Miley on screen together no matter what. It doesn't matter if they're fighting or making up. When Liam goes away, the movie's spirit goes away too.