Safe Haven

2013

Safe Haven

Critics Consensus

Schmaltzy, predictable, and melodramatic, Safe Haven also suffers from a ludicrous plot twist, making for a particularly ignominious Nicholas Sparks adaptation.

13%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 142

67%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 76,001
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Movie Info

An affirming and suspenseful story about a young woman's struggle to love again, Safe Haven is based on the novel from Nicholas Sparks, the best-selling author behind the hit films The Notebook and Dear John. When a mysterious young woman arrives in a small North Carolina town, her reluctance to join the tight knit community raises questions about her past. Slowly, she begins putting down roots, and gains the courage to start a relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with two young children. But dark secrets intrude on her new life with such terror that she is forced to rediscover the meaning of sacrifice and rely on the power of love in this deeply moving romantic thriller.

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Cast

Josh Duhamel
as Alex
Julianne Hough
as Katie Feldman
Cobie Smulders
as Jo
David Lyons
as Katie Feldman
Mimi Kirkland
as Lexi
Noah Lomax
as Josh
Colbie Caillat
Gavin DeGraw
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News & Interviews for Safe Haven

Critics Consensus: A Bad Day for A Good Day to Die Hard
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Critic Reviews for Safe Haven

All Critics (142) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (124)

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Audience Reviews for Safe Haven

  • Oct 05, 2016
    Save Haven is a normal Nicholas Sparks movie - damaged girl finding love with a good looking widower - even in the face of the corrupt cop ex-husband hunting her. I didn't like the last five minutes of the movie - too much Stephen-King-like.
    Red L Super Reviewer
  • Jun 08, 2016
    An abused wife flees her sadistic cop-husband and learns to love again with a widower and his kids in what could be a Lifetime movie - complete with big twist ending! - save for the big name actors and director. Julianne Hough shows incredible vibrancy and emotional range out on the dance floor, but in summoning bodily restraint for a film role, she becomes a personality vacuum. Josh Duhamel seems at home enough as the hunky and jovial single dad, and David Lyons really creeps it up as the corrupt and deranged abuser, hot on his wife's trail. The movie is heavy on the folksy charm of a seaside tourist town and only skin-deep with the abuse recovery, but it's still guiltily watchable.
    Alice S Super Reviewer
  • Sep 22, 2014
    Was enjoying it and then a stupid cheesy ending made me laugh and ruined the experience. The leads are appealing enough and it did get suspenseful but then it got too cute for its own good. Date Movie night became a bust and my wife felt the same way. 09-21-2014
    Christopher O Super Reviewer
  • Jul 26, 2014
    I had a mixed to negative reaction to the film. It felt like I was watching 2 movies that didn't connect well (the romance and the husband stalking wife). The film needed a major rewrite. The tone was also off. The film reminded me of movies like Sleeping With the Enemy, Enough, An Unfinished Life, and Message in a Bottle. The big confrontation at the end seemed very predictable and not surprising. I thought Julianne Hough was miscast here. In my opinion, she didn't have a good on screen chemistry with Duhamel. Another actress in that role, would have probably done a better job. However, Duhamel, Cobie Smulders, and David Lyons are great in their roles.
    Sol C Super Reviewer
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