A Marine travels to North Carolina after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.
Given the telegraphed plotting and one dimensional characterisation that is also rife, nothing can prevent this from being an empty, shallow experience for those unlucky enough to see it.
Makes The Princess Diaries look like Last Tango In Paris.
A through-and-through weepie that’s unlikely to convert any Sparks naysayers. The darker hues of its war-based story nonetheless make the sugary excesses easier to swallow.
The picture feels rigorously designed to appeal to God-fearing middle-America but I suspect its reverence for romantic drama clichés will inspire only boredom and derision over here.
There’s nothing about the script, the acting or Shine director Scott Hicks’s sun-strewn visuals that catches fire enough to make this even a mildly diverting romantic fantasy.
It’s twaddle, sure, but it hits its marks dead centre; revelling in the fantasy that for girls who work hard and say their prayers, destiny could come striding round the corner in a skintight T-shirt at any moment.
A tsunami of syrup and a Niagara of nonsense here in this mind-blowingly ridiculous romdram, adapted from a novel by Nicholas Sparks, the great master of this genre, and suffused in his signature buttery glow.
As soppy as a Labradoodle post bubble-bath, it never recovers from a fatal plot flaw early on, ensuring this is one shaggy dog story for diehard romantics and mutt lovers only.
Lucky is the one who avoids this.
With just the right helping of heartache and come-hither glances, it’s job done.
There's a thin line between the exploration of grief and its exploitation that this film crosses.
Unlucky for men.
The Notebook may have had us blubbing but since then Nicholas Sparks adaptions have offered thin pickings for cinemagoers. For all Efron's boyish charms, this one could be the most ordinary of the lot.
How bad can Nicholas Sparks and Zac Efron movie be? Oh. This bad.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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