I have to admit, that I never gave much thought of the phenomenon that was surrounding Zac Efron. The ladies seemed to love him and no one could have blamed him, if he just kept making the simple romantic movies, that would please his fan base.

He seems to have other things on his mind though. He is trying to act. And I have to admit, that I was surprised at how engaging and how truthful he seemed in this one. I do think he is better than the High School Musical tag he has stamped on him (which would mean, he is a bad actor, which frankly I don't think could be said of him).

His character does get a lot of attention from the female characters on display here, which seems natural. On the other hand, you do have the female lead in here, that does not seem to get any attention whatsoever, which makes you wonder if the male "population" in the movie is blind or into other things. Whatever it is, this is one of the things that do not feel right. The other being the mixture between the elements on display here. Let me just tell you, that this isn't neither your simple romantic movie, nor just pure drama. There is other aspects to it. I can see though that this might ruin the movie for quite a few people. Especially if they expected something more straight-forward.

Saw 'The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud' as somebody who really liked the idea, has found that Zac Efron has grown as an actor and wanted to see how he would fare in one of the first roles to break from his 'High School Musical' image. There are some good, great and more even, tear-jerker films out there so there is hardly any bias against them.

'The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud' is definitely watchable and do not have regrets watching it. It has moments of genuine emotion, it is more than competently made with a few good performances and it does intrigue with its ideas on paper. Will admit conversely to wanting to like 'The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud' much more, a case of great potential for the story that was under-cooked in execution and didn't do enough with its more interesting ideas.

Efron gives a very commendable lead performance, it is a far cry from 'High School Musical' (thankfully) and he does command the screen and gives his role a good deal of heart. Charlie Tahan is appealing as his brother, and the fraternal bond is sweet and touching. Amanda Crew has moments of being a sympathetic love interest and, while his character is underused and quite strangely written, Ray Liotta's performance is heartfelt.

It's a beautifully filmed film too and the locations are even more gorgeous to look at. The music is understated without being low key and soothing. There are sweet, poignant and intriguing moments here, especially at the beginning before and with the tragedy. The direction is suitably earnest.

Not all the acting works however, though the sketchy and sometimes ambiguously written character writing works against them. Crew does have some very awkward dialogue too often and it shows that she is not completely comfortable with it. Kim Bassinger is even more underused than Liotta but doesn't have his presence to register, didn't even remember her involvement on the most part at all. Then there is Augustus Prew, who features too much and is pretty annoying with some misplaced and not funny humour.

Chemistry between Efron and Crew is not as believable or as genuine as that between him and Tahan. It just feels very underdeveloped and contrived on the most part. A lot of the dialogue is cringe-worthy and lays it on too thick with the corn and schmaltz. The storytelling generally is very muddled and can be dull and unsubtly maudlin, with the aftermath of the tragedy and especially the supernatural elements rather under-explored, the latter generally not making much sense. The final twist doesn't work as a result, found it confusing and very silly.

All in all, far from bad but didn't live up to its potential. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron) was once a promising young sailor, but now he's a grounds keeper at the local cemetery. Right before Sam's death, Charlie makes a deal with Sam to practice baseball meeting him at sunset cannons. Now he sees his spirit every day keeping the promise alive. Five years after the deadly car accident, he sees ghosts. An old schoolmate and competitor Tess Carroll (Amanda Crew) returns to town to compete in an important race as the youngest ever.

Every time he makes a movie, Zac Efron is showing that he's a real actor. He's not just the simple pretty boy next door. The story is a light take on loss and grief. It feels like a Nicholas Sparks movie. There is a big twist in this movie. I do wish it could prepare it more, but it's good enough not to feel cheated.