Safe But Entertaining Safe Haven

When going in to a Nicholas Sparks film, there are a few things that can usually be taken for granted. There will likely be a guy and a girl who meet under unlikely circumstances. One or both of them will be hesitant to love again because they`ve been hurt in the past. Eventually there will be a conversation in which all is revealed, and they`ll fall hard for each other. Of course, in the end someone usually dies to give the love story a bittersweet resolution. Safe Haven strays from the classic Sparks formula in a few ways, though it`s still quite obviously a Nicholas Sparks movie from start to finish.One of the biggest departures in "Safe Haven" lies in the fact that the movie incorporates elements of a thriller into the romantic backdrop of the film. This serves to create the tension that the film runs on, leaving viewers wondering whether Katie (Julianne Hough) is a criminal on the run from a dogged Boston police detective (David Lyons). This doesn`t mean that the film is an action movie, however; despite having the trappings of a thriller, "Safe Haven" is still a Nicholas Sparks film through and through. Another change to the Sparks formula comes in the form of Safe Haven not being a tearjerker like most of the other films based on his works; the only death in the film occurs before the movie starts. Male lead Alex (Josh Duhamel) is a widower who runs the local store in the North Carolina town of Southport, tasked with raising a young son and daughter after his wife succumbed to cancer. This sets Alex up as a sympathetic character, likeable and charming but not trying to rush into anything when Katie gets off of the bus Watch Safe Haven for free.Aside from those deviations, much of the film plays out as you would expect a Nicholas Sparks movie to be. Katie decides to stay in Southport when she stops there on a bus layover, renting a house and trying her best to blend in and lay low. Alex tries to befriend her, being the good guy that he is.