Safe Haven

Arguably starts out a little better than most Sparks movies as it actually kind of has a fugitive thing going on and a conflict at its center, but it nicely dumbs itself up by the end, with a concluding Sixth Sense twist that'll have you holding your arms out and shouting "WHAT?!" Also, why no tasteful nudity in these cheesy romance flicks? Missin' the 70s and 80s.

This movie isn't terrible, but I wouldn't call it good either. Duhamel and Hough were a cute couple although Duhamel seemed way too old to be with Hough. His kids in the film were cute. I also thought that Duhamel's back story was touching. The one thing I couldn't stand was the twist towards the end. I may have cursed out loud when it was revealed because it was pretty stupid. I love Lasse Hallstrom as a director but man, how did that even get put into the movie!

Sort of a run-of-the-mill romantic movie, touching all the buttons, while maybe avoiding some of the cliche's. But it had two endings, one was typical, the other hit me right between the eyes. Never saw it coming. Some, who've never been there, call it stupid, I call it touching.

Bland faux-romantic Nicholas Sparks gunge about a young woman (Julianne Hough) who flees Boston, seemingly having killed someone, and finds a new life in a coastal North Carolina town. She finds budding happiness with a local widower (Josh Duhamel), but her past ultimately catches up with her. Hough and Duhamel are both quite dull, and Cobie Smulders is wasted in a role that provides an amazingly stupid twist in the film's final moments. Lasse Hallstrom, who should know better, directs blandly.

Wow this movie is dark af. But also Nicholas Sparks writes romance that is secretly dark so that tracks

Too cliched but it kept me hooked especially the first half. A safe haven indeed.

It has a surprise twist that I guessed early in the movie. How bad does a movie have to be for that to happen?

Didn't like the script. Didn't feel that romantic to me actually.

A very safe movie for people who like movies like this. I find to not like them so I just tend to find it more boring and lame than anything else. The "mystery" was obvious and the twist was the most absurd thing in cinema history. Whatever.

Nothing wrong with the film per say, it's just very, very simple. The setting is nice, the love story sweet, the characters bland but inoffensive. The leads make a good onscreen couple. The whole murder subplot is frankly a bit silly, and turns plain stupid when the deranged husband turns up later. All in all, the film feels very much like the sort of material immature teenage girls or Twi-hards would enjoy, but won't appeal to many outside that group.

Very average and obvious

1

Cobie Smulders is my favorite name for a terrible actress, since it makes it sound like she's made of cheese. Anyway, this is a world of white middle class people riding great smelling busses through our sun dappled coast while tanned model-sized women wear scanty outfits. A view of American life so antiseptic only a very dumb, very small child could believe it. It's too bad everywhere can't be this all-white, conflict-free Carolina utopia. Dumb 'twist', too. Nauseating.

This is an obviously predictable movie. But the acting is OK, and there are some moments where you forget it is predictable. Watchable, is what I call it, and therefore a 50/100.

Inoffensive standard-issue chick flick with a shoehorned "danger plot" and a sweet, unexpected ending.

It's okay, not good though.

Feels like a slightly-higher-production Lifetime TV movie, where the romance is corny and the mystery thriller aspects even cornier. The ending twist is awful and contrived, considering that spirituality nor the supernatural plays any part in the rest of the film.

I do understand why some people, such as my GF, love this film, but this one didn't work out for me. I tried and I even have to admit that Duhamel and Hough make a cute couple, but their background stories are such clichés that it ruined the magic. Some characters, such as Josh and Tierney, we're dreadful and the ending... Well, I don't even know where to start on that.

Pointless flick. Rubbish.

The book was probably better. The movie was a Sleeping with the Enemy wannabe with a little twist. Acting was fine, movie was a little slow, and ending was pretty unbelievable. Another nice Nicolas Sparks' movie though. If you're a fan, check it out.

Maybe not terrible but pretty close.

http://gorgview.com/safe-haven

Wow, I felt nothing.

wtf is lasse hallström doing? this is seriously terrible in all departments, and while he's not a favorite or anything one expects more from someone as seasoned as him

As Sparks adaptations go, it's not quite as good as The Notebook, but it's probably the next best, marginally beating out The Lucky One and smashing the heck out of Dear John. The darker tonal elements don't always gel with the small-town western romance, but there's pretty scenery, pretty people, a cute-as-a-button kid and - most sigificantly - some interesting characters here. I can't exactly recommend it, but I enjoyed it enough.

10 out of 10 very good movie