The Longest Ride (2015) Movie Review

The Longest Ride (2015)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson in The Longest Ride (2015)

For the Love of Ruth

After being persuaded to attend a bull riding event Sophia (Britt Robertson) met and fell for the charming and handsome Luke (Scott Eastwood). Trouble is that in a month or two Sophia is off to New York for an internship with an art expert so nothing can come of it. But it is after their first date that they come across a crashed car where upon they save the life or Ira Levinson (Alan Alda) and a wicker basket containing 100s of letters he wrote to Ruth (Oona Chaplin), the love of his wife. It leads to Sophia befriending the elderly Ira and through reading his letters gets to understand more about love and her relationship to Luke who despite one fall from killing himself continues to risk it all riding bulls.

So I am in Nicholas Sparks territory again with this adaption of his novel "The Longest Ride" and as I have mentioned before that I have been around the Nicholas Sparks block a few times to recognize how these movies work. And the "The Longest Ride" delivers a mostly text book romantic drama in that Nicholas Sparks style which is more than a little reminiscent of "The Notebook". As such we have the troubled relationship of art lover Sophia, who plans to leave for New York, and the handsome bull rider Luke who doesn't get what people see in the sort of art which Sophia appreciates. As such we have some ups and downs as well as a steamy session in the shower.

But as I said there is something a little "The Notebook" about "The Longest Ride" and that comes in the form of Ira who is nearing the end of a long life and through a friendship which strikes up between him and Sophia she learns all about the love of his life Ira and how they had ups and downs in their life leading them to learn a valuable lesson, to enjoy and treasure what they had rather than mourn what they didn't have. Oh there are other romantic life lessons thrown in there as well including one about sacrifice for the one you love.

But "The Longest Ride" is everything you expect, as such it is beautiful, charming, romantic, turbulent and truth be told 98% predictable with only two twists which I didn't see coming. And as such we have the combination of youthful beauty in Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood who look good together and then you have the aged wisdom of Alan Alda as Ira. On top of that there is also retro appeal in the combination of Jack Huston and Oona Chaplin as the younger Ira and Ruth.

What this all boils down to is that "The Longest Ride" is another good addition to the collection of Nicholas Sparks movies and delivers the romance, charm and sentiment of his will enjoy. But again this is not one of those great romantic movies which in 25 years will be revered as a classic.

Tags: Nicholas Sparks


LATEST REVIEWS