Solomiya Syvyk
Literary Editor

“What sparks most Sparks flicks are the sparks. The romantic sparks, that is,” wrote Bill Wine from “CBS Philadelphia”. Once again, another one of Nicholas Spark’s novels has been moved to the big screen; following “The Lucky One”. On Feb.14, “Safe Haven” premiered in theaters with sold out shows throughout the day.

The story begins with a young woman, named Katie, fleeing her home in Boston in the rain, to board a bus and head anywhere else in order to hide from Kevin, a relentless policeman. She ends up in South Port, N.C., where she quickly lands a job as a waitress in a fish shack and buys an aged house in the woods, making it her goal to be isolated. Eventually, she befriends Jo, a neighbor no one else in the friendly little town seems to ever mention and meets Alex, a widowed store owner who is raising two children, Josh and Lexi. Throughout the movie, a romance blossoms between Katie and Alex, despite their hidden backgrounds.

But eventually the past catches up with Katie and produces a halt to any future she might have had with Alex. To maintain the suspense, her guilt and fear occasionally lead to flashbacks of the crime scene, showing a motionless body lying on the ground, covered in blood.

The director of the film, Lasse Hallstrom, chose actors who fit their roles perfectly, casting Julianne Hough as “Katie”, Josh Duhamel as “Alex Wheatley”, Cobie Smulders as “Jo” and David Lyons as “Kevin Tierney”.

Although “Safe Haven” received favorable reviews, with a 72 percent on the well known site, “Rotten Tomatoes”, critics have been attacking it from every angle.

“The weakest parts of “Safe Haven” are its action sequences, in which the illusion of reality is shattered by ham-handed editing, garish special effects and comic-book dialogue”, said Stephen Holden in a “New York Times” article.

Some are even complaining that the movie was too sappy and the ending was extremely irrational. On the other hand, many viewers disagree.

“It was based on a Nicholas Sparks book so I expected lots of tears, romance and the same old , but I was surprised to witness that in some ways it was even better than ‘The Notebook’”, said sophomore, Angela Sanson.

Even though the movie itself is controversial, Nicholas Spark’s stories will never stop capturing the hearts of the hopeless romantics.

3/5 Turkeys