This movie is not terrible. It is watchable. To me, it looks obviously directed to a 12-year old audience and was unfortunately marketed as a movie for everyone, hence the general criticism.
Di Caprio is much better in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "The Basketball Diaries". Virginie Ledoyen is much better in "Fin Aout, Debut Septembre" or "Jeanne Et Le Garcon Formidable" and Guillaume Canet is much better in "Barracuda" or "Je Regle Mon Pas Sur Le Pas De Mon Pere". You can also see both Virginie and Guillaume in "En Plein Coeur". Even though the latter is a very average movie, at least their performances should convince you that a movie like The Beach is not worthy of their talent.
Di Caprio is much better in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "The Basketball Diaries". Virginie Ledoyen is much better in "Fin Aout, Debut Septembre" or "Jeanne Et Le Garcon Formidable" and Guillaume Canet is much better in "Barracuda" or "Je Regle Mon Pas Sur Le Pas De Mon Pere". You can also see both Virginie and Guillaume in "En Plein Coeur". Even though the latter is a very average movie, at least their performances should convince you that a movie like The Beach is not worthy of their talent.