Movie Review: Safe Haven (+trailer)

Safe Haven is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel of the same name.

Given Sparks wrote the love story to rule them all - The Notebook - and given this was a Valentine's Day release, I was expecting a decent tear-jerker with abundant romance.

Although there were moments of beauty, and the plot unravelled slowly and at a satisfying pace, the final twist was disappointing.

The lead characters Alex and Katie were played by Josh Duhamel (from Transformers, husband of songstress Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas) and country music star Julianne Hough.

Alex and Katie meet in small-town America. She's on the run from a painful past in a big city and he is raising his kids alone after the death of his wife.

They meet, they fall in love. It's rocky, no one is who they seem - all fairly predictable stuff.

The real star of Safe Haven is Southport - a gorgeous town in North Carolina which has featured as the backdrop in television shows such as Dawson's Creek and films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer.

It executed the role of an idyllic backwater with aplomb, and the organisation in charge of promoting tourism for North Carolina must be chuffed.

If you are after a film which doesn't require much thought, and you're not offended by predictability, Safe Haven is a pleasant enough way to while away 130 minutes.

The scenery alone has a hypnotic quality, whispering of the content troubled souls can find in quiet corners of the world.

Safe Haven

(M) 130 minutes

Rating: 2.5 / 5