Safe Haven is part-thriller/part-typical Nicholas Sparks romantic drama. As the film opens we see a young woman running shoe-less, panting and covered in blood. She bangs on a neighbor’s door crying, “I don’t know what’s happened.” In the next scene Katie (Julianne Hough) has dyed her hair, and is trying to board a bus when sirens approach. Detective Tierney of the Boston PD is frantically looking for her, but Katie manages to escape on a bus bound for Atlanta

When her bus takes a short rest stop at the small beach-side town of Southport, North Carolina, Katie decides to make this her new home. She gets a job at the local restaurant, Ivan’s Fish Shack, and rents a house. She soon finds herself falling for the owner of the local general store, a widower named Alex (Josh Duhamel) with two young children. However, Katie can’t get too comfortable because Detective Tierney will stop as nothing to find her.

All of the other Nicholas Sparks films I had seen in the past were primarily straight-forward romantic dramas, so I was excited to see that this film would have a thriller element to it. I thought the opening sequence with Katie making her escape was really well done—it had mystery, action and suspense, and got me really invested in seeing more. However, as the thriller aspect proceeded, and we learn more about what happened, the plot holes started to emerge. We learn that Katie was escaping from an abusive relationship. However, this is only established through one short flashback scene as well as Katie telling someone else that this was the case. It never really felt believable or well thought out, and no pattern of abuse was ever established.

It seems like the writers didn’t know what to do with her pursuer, Detective Tierney. This was one of the most inconsistent characters in the film—he is constantly flipping between brilliant detective to drunk, fly-off-the-handle guy. At one point he is supposed to have been severely wounded but is up and running around with no trace of injury. He ultimately just came off more as a cartoon villain. Another confusing character was Katie’s the neighbor Jo (Cobie Smulders). They seemed to want her to be this friend and confidant for Katie, but to me she just came off as creepy and stalkery from the get-go.

The good news is that the romantic storyline worked far better than the thriller aspect—probably because this is what Nicholas Sparks does best. There was a lot of chemistry between Hough and Duhamel and their characters’ relationship was very believable. The kids were also given realistic (though somewhat unoriginal) storylines—with daughter Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) finding a new mom in Katie while son Josh (Noah Lomax) felt that Katie was trying to replace his own mother.

I didn’t have any issues with the acting in the film, I think the actors just weren’t given very good or original material to work with. The movie itself was quite predictable and formulaic in all respects—and even the twist at the end I saw coming from early on (though I was really hoping I was wrong). Katie’s final confrontation with Tierney was just a bit too cartoony and absurd, and the ending that followed was just a little too perfect and schmaltzy.

The film itself seemed to go on way too long—perhaps if it hadn’t tried to be both a thriller and a romantic drama, this wouldn’t have been the case. A far more successful film that was able to cover similar ground was Sleeping with the Enemy—and that did a much better job of establishing the abusive relationship the main character was escaping from and her motivation of starting a new life.

I have no complaints about the sound and picture quality on the Safe Haven Blu-ray—the picture was clear and the audio track successfully captures all of the dialog, fireworks (literally and figuratively) and soundtrack. The bonus features are minimal, but interesting. I would recommend a rental before purchasing.

What’s Included:

Film (116 min):

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
• English SDH, Spanish subtitles

DVD:

• 480p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DD 5.1
• English SDH, Spanish subtitles

Digital Copy: (Redemption Deadline 5/7/2015)

• iTunes/Android Digital Copy (transferred via the DVD)

Extras (Only available on the Blu-ray):

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (5:19)
  Five deleted scenes from the film. Overall these don’t add anything—they provide further proof that the creators were unsure in what direction to go with the Tierney character. There is a Play All option, or select from “Katie in Alley”, “Tierney’s Eighth Arrest”, “Alex Puts Lexie To Bed With Animals”, “Katie and Alex Talk ‘I Liked That'”, and “Tierney Survives”.
• Alternate Ending (3:37)
  Slightly different cut of the ending, but pretty much the same tone and message.
• Igniting the Romance in Safe Haven (9:15)
  Behind the scenes featurette where author Nicholas Sparks, director Lasse Hallström, and stars Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel talk about combining the script with improvisation.
• Josh Duhamel’s Lessons in Crabbing (3:05)
  Josh Duhamel has trouble baiting a crab trap and catching a crab.
• Set Tour (2:18)
  Nicholas Sparks, Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough talk about the town of Southport, North Carolina.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:16)
• Sneak Peek (3:24)
  Trailers for “The Heat” and The Blu-ray Experience, with a Play All option.

Final Thoughts:

Safe Haven starts off with a lot of promise as a combination of thriller and love story, but despite the quality acting, it quickly devolves into a generic, predictable film with quite a few plot holes. The film itself looks and and sounds great on Blu-ray, but the minimal bonus features don’t add a lot—it would have been nice to see a gag reel or get an audio commentary on the film. A rental is recommended for first time viewers.