Starring: Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, Cobie Smulders
Director: Lasse Hallström
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Run Time: 120 minutes
Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Are you a female? Better yet are you a female Nicholas Sparks fan? If so you will like this film. I have seen various film adaptations of his books and this is not the best and not the worst. It comes with a little romance and some thrills. For a guy it might be a bit of a nightmare to get through this but it is worth it to make your girl happy. I mean who doesn’t love a good twist ending, even if it isn’t that good. Plus the men can enjoy looking at the gorgeous Julianne Hough, while the ladies are drooling at the handsome Josh Duhamel. So it could end up being a win-win for everyone.
Official Premise: Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough star in this spellbinding romantic drama based on the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook). When a mysterious, beautiful woman named Katie (Hough), moves to Southport, North Carolina, she sparks the interest of the locals, especially Alex (Duhamel), a handsome widower. Although she is attracted to Alex, Katie is reluctant to trust him – that is, until a new friend (Cobie Smulders) convinces her to give Alex a chance. But before long, a dark secret from Katie’s past threatens her happiness in this thrilling romance directed by Lasse Hallström.
20th Century Fox delivered a nice combo pack including a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy. But I was a little bit let down that this only includes an iTunes digital copy. I thought that Fox was full on the Ultraviolet band wagon…but not sure why they opted out for this release. The 1080p transfer looks stunning and definitely gives props to our leads and the beautiful North Carolina setting. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track also delivers as well. Since the film is a romantic-thriller, it doesn’t blow you away but it works with what it has and does it quite well.
The special features are not great but at least they have given us something. There are five deleted and extended scenes, as well as an alternate ending including. This ending is not any better than the film’s original but still worth checking out. “Igniting the Romance in Safe Haven” is a short behind-the-scenes look into the production with interviews from director Lasse Hellström, author Nicholas Sparks and our leads. “Josh Duhamel’s Lessons in Crabbing” is what I like to call a “waste-of-time-filler extra, which shows Duhamel attempting to catch crabs, no pun intended…I think. There is a very short set tour with our author Nicholas Sparks, which this could have been longer. Lastly there is a theatrical trailer included.
