Saturday, April 11, 2015

The Longest Ride

I had never planned on seeing this movie in theaters. If you've seen one Nicholas Sparks movie, you've pretty much seen them all. I've said it before and I'll say it again- there hasn't been a decent Nicholas Sparks movie since The Notebook. But I figured I'd give this a chance since I've already seen most of the movies that are out right now. To my surprise, I actually liked The Longest Ride. Was it as amazing as The Notebook? Absolutely not. But it was still pretty good.

The Longest Ride tells the story of Sophia Danko (Britt Robertson), a college student about to embark on her dream job at an art gallery in New York. She meets Luke Collins (Scott Eastwood), a champion bull rider trying to make a comeback. Even though they come from two completely different worlds, they of course fall in love. One night as they're driving home from a date, they stop and help an elderly man named Ira Levinson (Alan Alda) who has just been in a car accident. Through a series of letters he had written to his beloved wife Ruth, we learn the incredible, sometimes heartbreaking, story of their life together. Their story inspires both Luke and Sophia.

Make no mistake, this film is loaded with almost every cliche you'll find in a Nicholas Sparks movie. Takes place in North Carolina? Check. A kiss/love scene that takes place in the rain or some equivalent? Check. Someone dies? Check. I could go on and on.

I give director George Tillman Jr. a lot of credit though for trying to create a decent romantic drama. And for the most part he succeeds given what he had to work with. I really enjoyed the bull riding scenes. While I've never been a big fan of the sport, he somehow made it interesting. 

Through a series of flashbacks we see Ira and Ruth's love story played out. This was by far my favorite part. Their relationship felt much more realistic than Luke and Sophia's. 

That being said, while I wasn't too impressed with Britt Robertson's performance, I thought Scott Eastwood was great as Luke. It's crazy how much he looks like his father. He's very charming and has the potential to be a really good actor. I'm look forward to more movies from him. 

If you're a Nicholas Sparks fan you're going to love this. While The Longest Ride isn't the best movie ever made, I would watch it again if I'm ever in the mood for a sappy romance movie. Give it a chance.

My Rating: 7.5/10

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