This was a fun little movie that kept me entertained and all, although honestly I felt that it started to drag on a little bit toward the end. The start of it was good and intriguing but the ending left me a bit disappointed. Don't worry though, I won't spoil it in case you still wanted to watch it. It's shot well and could be a fun little popcorn movie or something to have on in the background, but it's no CITIZEN KANE!

Lasse Hallstrom has been responsible for some great films ('My Life as a Dog' being a personal favourite) and there are some good Nicholas Sparks (not a bad writer) adaptations (such as 'The Notebook' though film adaptations are very variable). With such a good book, one of Sparks' most interesting, and a great idea, 'Safe Haven' had potential to work.Sadly, found, as much as it pains me to say it, found 'Safe Haven' to be one of Hallstrom's weaker films. As well as one of the weaker adaptations of Sparks' work. That it is a poor adaptation of the book, which is far more intense and emotional and with character motivations and situations clearer, is actually while something of a problem not as big a problem as how 'Safe Haven' fares on its own terms. There is far more to the problem than it being a poor book adaptation. By all means on its own 'Safe Haven' is not a terrible film, far from it. It's just that it is not a great film either, and it should have been considering its potential.Commencing with 'Save Haven's' strengths, it looks good. Beautifully filmed and with suitably idyllic locations. It begins intriguingly and has a suspenseful climax, although it feels like it belongs elsewhere. Nice soundtrack too. Of the performances, bubbly Mimi Kirkland, charming and hunky Josh Duhamel and especially a very creepy David Lyons fare best. Cobie Smulders does decently in the limited screen time she has. The big halfway through twist was a shocker. However, the romantic element to the story is pure formula and while the romantic chemistry has charm it lacks emotional connection. It would have helped if Julianne Hough gave a stronger performance than the anaemic one she gave. The character of Josh irritates and his change of heart is too out of the blue and rings false. Hallstrom's direction is fairly paint by numbers, not much of his style in sight here, somehow it doesn't feel like a Hallstrom film.The script is both bland and over-egged and the story suffers from a general lack of emotion and charm, the suspenseful climax is an exception. The overlength, due to that the story is so slight, is a further issue. The flashback would have fared better if there was more of an insanity factor to Kevin's character and if the film showed the full effects and intensity of domestic violence. The final twist doesn't work, on paper it sort of does, executed in this film it's daft and manipulative and felt tacked on. Wanted genuinely to be moved by the film and the ending, but was left cold and there were a few scenes like Alex's reaction to the flyer that came over as silly.In summary, average but watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

In his review of the film Safe Haven posted on RogerEbert.com (which you can access on IMDb), who knew that a flummoxed Richard Roeper not only likes to play film critic but also ghostbuster? If you don't choose to read his review, Mr. Roeper was "flummoxed" (his word) that the reveal at the end of Safe Haven involved a ghost interacting with a character. He called it: "Bat. Bleep. Crazy."So here's a news flash for Mr. Roeper: Sometimes in films ghosts interact with people. They're not documentaries, they're movies, and sometimes in movies ghosts are characters too. No one takes them literally. No one was "flummoxed" when Kevin Costner was having a catch with his deceased dad in Field of Dreams. The ending of Safe Haven was a touching tribute from a deceased wife who wanted her husband to find love; no less touching than the real life wife who wanted the same for her husband and made that her final act on this earth. Her open letter appeared in the March 3, 2017 edition of the New York Times, entitled "You May Want To Marry My Husband." She died ten days later.Richard Roeper is entitled to his opinions, even stupid ones, but we should all be flummoxed that a website dedicated to the incomparable Roger Ebert actually publishes them.

The reason I enjoyed the book of Safe Haven so much was because it wasn't just a romance. It was a thriller. It avoided the usual clichés and tediousness of Sparks' novels (in my opinion, they are mostly boring and cheesy), and while it obviously did have some of that (it wouldn't be Sparks if it didn't) it was definitely a better book because of the added thriller aspect. Likewise, the movie was a better movie because it wasn't just your typical chick flick. For my particular tastes, it was thus a better film. It had so much more; it was exciting, it was emotional, it was painful, but it was beautiful. And I mean that in the most heart-breaking, heart-absorbing sense. It was beautiful. The cinematography was decent and the scenery idyllic. The sun sprinkled beach and boats, the homely restaurant, and the roaming forests could be picturesque one minute and frighteningly chilling the next. The atmosphere could change in a flash, and yet the entire setting of the story was swept with a very down-to-earth, storybook- like breath of fresh air. As an additional note, I thought there was also one scene that got very close to copying The Notebook: when Katie and Alex were on the lake in the boat and the flowers were floating around them......so Noah & Allie. The similarity became inevitably obvious when it even started to rain! and I half expected them to kiss....... Still, it was a lovely scene :) The script was lovely. The dialogue was beautiful, although nothing incredibly profound, and the action started immediately from the beginning. My heart was racing the entire time; it was brilliant and never boring. The film added and altered a lot of details from the book, but I thought most of the changes were natural and, actually, a big improvement on the book's version (with one exception: the film's climax was too short and I didn't like how they cut a lot of the action - although admittedly, it is understandable because it's a film not a book). The dazzles of humour made me smile frequently, and the certain additional scenes that weren't in the book were perfectly included to form shots of beauty and passion that were just amazing and natural and so wholesome. I particularly loved this additional scene where Alex and Kate were in his store at night and they started dancing. They start to kiss and hold each other, and honestly that scene has got to be one of my favourites in the film. It was so beautiful. The acting was decent all round. The exceptions were the kids - the girl, especially, was one of the most infuriating child actors I have ever seen. The boy wasn't much better. Cobie Smulders and David Lyons were good in their supporting roles (Smulders was Katie's friend, Jo). Lyons was chilling and violently frantic as Katie's abusive husband, and he dove headfirst into the panic and cruelty of his character with strong results. Julianne Hough I feel a bit...'hmm' about. She wasn't how I pictured Katie when I read the book, and somehow, although she was lovely most of the time, she didn't quite show the reactions and personality that I expected from Katie after reading the book. But having said that, she did win me over through her chemistry with Josh Duhamel...... WHOA. 'Dat chemistry tho'. Hough and Duhamel were on fire; it's the kind of chemistry that can bring tears to your eyes because it's so raw, so honest, so beautiful, and so intense. At least, it brought tears to my easy-to-make-cry eyes (what can I say, true love moves me). They were a gentle, gorgeous couple; heartbreaking and affirming. When Alex ran after Katie to convince her to stay, my heart literally burned. That moment was so beautiful. Hough and Duhamel weren't Ryan & Rachel's Noah and Allie, but their chemistry was certainly on point - rain or no rain ;) The story was a gut-wrenching one. The conflict tore at my heart, as does anything that hurts women or sees them in abusive situations. But Alex and Katie's romance was beautiful among the shadows, and it shone, radiantly and triumphantly, to show hope and strength.