Well, welcome to the assembly line. Where the pick-up/proposal line of the day is 'Bother me all my life, come be my wife'.
I did ask for it, heading to this one on the big screen in this season, but then, perhaps not, since Sparks has had decent flicks to his credit, not the least being 'Message in a bottle', or 'The notebook' (even 'A walk to remember' had its moments, to be fair).
First, the good parts, which barely pass muster: a good-looking lead pair (Walker, hot off 'In the heart of the sea' and our very own 'Abe Lincoln: Vampire hunter'n and Kristen Stewart stand-in Teresa Palmer), lush visuals and locations, across the Carolinas (or what stands in for those) albeit low-rent to a T, supporting actors slumming for their paychecks (Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Grace...) propping this up a few notches, from its deserved status as a made- for-TLC movie (in hindsight, perhaps they shouldn't have signed on?)....and some of the background score is passable too....And I confess, Palmer and Daddario are easy on the eyes, while there's something about Grace.....(more on that below)
The bad parts? Everything else. From the predictability of the plot, to the very badly written lines (how did the actors keep a straight face for most of it...I'm sure there's a blooper reel in there someplace), to the entire 3d act, which almost makes a case for how not to make your flick/novel/plot/screenplay/story predictable/by- the-numbers, and reflecting on the bad days that Smallville's Tom Welling is having to see after the demise of his TV series. Ben Walker and Tessa Palmer can survive this, so can Wilkinson, but can Welling? Now, Maggie Grace. Won't deny she's got talent, or a frigging good agent. There's something about the time she spends on the screen that just....makes one want (right since she was 'Lost', and then, ahem, 'Taken' thrice) to close your eyes and shut your ears, while shuddering all the time. This outing of her's is no different.
In spite of the decent parts described above, this one's predominantly a complete waste of time, effort and money.....but there's an audience for such cinema, for sure.....
I did ask for it, heading to this one on the big screen in this season, but then, perhaps not, since Sparks has had decent flicks to his credit, not the least being 'Message in a bottle', or 'The notebook' (even 'A walk to remember' had its moments, to be fair).
First, the good parts, which barely pass muster: a good-looking lead pair (Walker, hot off 'In the heart of the sea' and our very own 'Abe Lincoln: Vampire hunter'n and Kristen Stewart stand-in Teresa Palmer), lush visuals and locations, across the Carolinas (or what stands in for those) albeit low-rent to a T, supporting actors slumming for their paychecks (Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Grace...) propping this up a few notches, from its deserved status as a made- for-TLC movie (in hindsight, perhaps they shouldn't have signed on?)....and some of the background score is passable too....And I confess, Palmer and Daddario are easy on the eyes, while there's something about Grace.....(more on that below)
The bad parts? Everything else. From the predictability of the plot, to the very badly written lines (how did the actors keep a straight face for most of it...I'm sure there's a blooper reel in there someplace), to the entire 3d act, which almost makes a case for how not to make your flick/novel/plot/screenplay/story predictable/by- the-numbers, and reflecting on the bad days that Smallville's Tom Welling is having to see after the demise of his TV series. Ben Walker and Tessa Palmer can survive this, so can Wilkinson, but can Welling? Now, Maggie Grace. Won't deny she's got talent, or a frigging good agent. There's something about the time she spends on the screen that just....makes one want (right since she was 'Lost', and then, ahem, 'Taken' thrice) to close your eyes and shut your ears, while shuddering all the time. This outing of her's is no different.
In spite of the decent parts described above, this one's predominantly a complete waste of time, effort and money.....but there's an audience for such cinema, for sure.....