Hot off the tracks of the romantic tearjerker “The Vow,” trailers for “The Lucky One” started appearing before every movie.
“Oh God, not another Nicholas Sparks movie,” every single person in the audience probably thought. However, this movie adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks book takes a different tone than previous adaptations.
Zac Efron plays Logan, a 25-year-old marine who just finished his third tour in Iraq. He comes back to the U.S. determined to find a woman in a picture that he found in the sands of the Iraqi desert. The picture became his good luck charm, causing him to survive things he said he “should have never survived from.”
Logan decides to walk across the country to find Beth, the woman in the picture, and thank her for saving his life. Taylor Schilling plays Beth, a reserved, wary young woman whose greatest concern is her son. However, when Logan first finds her, he can’t find the words to thank her and the dramatic irony of the whole situation ensues for practically the entire movie.
What makes this Nicholas Sparks adaptation different from the rest is its exploration of an emotional recovery period of a man who survived gruesome attacks during the Iraq War. Sure, this movie definitely falls under the sappy, romantic category, but the journey that Logan goes through to find some sort of peace gives a deeper level to a story that, at first glance, just seems like another love story.
However, Efron’s portrayal of Logan was a tad bit lacking. Logan is supposed to be emotionally reserved and cautious, but sometimes Efron looked just a little bit aloof playing him. His blank face during times when he should have been emotional caused him to seem like he didn’t really care, not that he was going through a lot of strife. His shirtless scenes, to be honest, were a million times better than the scenes when he was actually talking.
The supporting characters saved the movie from being emotionally lacking. Beth’s grandmother, played by seasoned actress Blythe Danner, was perfectly witty and charming. She gave comic relief to ease some of the more tense moments. Also, Efron’s acting improved when he had scenes with Beth’s son Ben, played by Riley Thomas Stewart. Ben’s innocence and search for approval matched perfectly with Logan’s confident persona, and the dynamic between each other was spot on.
Overall, the movie was a good portrayal of a love story complicated by a unique secret. The heart-pounding ending definitely will keep everyone’s attention. Although Efron seemed a little detached from some of his scenes, his acting has improved tremendously from his “High School Musical” days. In comparison to other Nicholas Sparks movies and to other romantic movies in general, “The Lucky One” is one to spend your time with.