‘The Longest Ride’ Isn’t Getting Good Reviews From Movie Critics
The Longest Ride was released in theaters around the country a week ago, and so far the movie has not gotten many good reviews from critics. The new movie is based on Nicholas Sparks’ 17th novel and his 10th novel made into a movie. The Longest Ride came in third at the box-office behind Furious 7 and Home during their second week.
Box Office Mojo reported that during its first weekend, The Longest Ride made only $13,019,686, and five days later the sales had increased to only $15,838,173. Critics have given the movie zero-to-three stars out of a five-star rating. According to Movie Fone, people are beginning to wonder if the trend of Nicholas Sparks’ 10 movies over the last 16 years is coming to an end.
The Longest Ride centers around the relationship between bull rider Luke, played by Scott Eastwood, and young college student Sophia, played by Britt Robertson. Their lives intersect with 91-year-old Ira, played by 79-year-old Alan Alda. Ira tells the young couple about his own love life shown through flashbacks with Jack Huston playing his younger self. Huston is the grandson of John Huston and nephew of Anjelica Huston. Jack’s lovely wife is Ruth, played by Oona Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and great-granddaughter of Eugene O’Neill.
The Longest Ride does seem to be bumpy if moviegoers listen to the critics. One critic said Nicholas Sparks has finally run out of ideas because he uses much of what was in his previous hit, The Notebook. In The Longest Ride, two love stories are interwoven into one movie. Another critic said Sparks probably had two manuscripts. After the pages fell out of his hands, he picked up the pages without putting them back in the right order. Therefore, the audience didn’t get to see the development of each of the love stories.
Claudia Puig of USA Today, says the film “covers a predictable checklist of Sparks-isms.” For instance, you can always expect to see love in action, a country setting, and water in the form of rain, a lake, or a river. There is always a death. Letters are read in every movie, and there is a twist at the end. The Longest Ride did not disappoint with any of these themes.
The Longest Ride is not about the eight-second ride on a bull as most people think. The idea of a long ride comes from the words of Ira who explains life in terms of “the longest ride” with love, disappointments, hopes, dreams, and sacrifices.
For those who are unwilling to throw their hat into the ring and see The Longest Ride, perhaps The Choice will hit the bull’s eye when it is released in theaters on February 5, 2016.
[Image via Getty Images]
