MovieChat Forums > Safe Haven (2013) Discussion > What's with all the hate on ending ?

What's with all the hate on ending ?


I see 4 possible reasons why some people think the ending sucked.

1,They are under 15 y.o so they creeped out or annoyed by a ghost(Jo) in a movie rather than getting emotional by the way she touches Katie's life.

2,They think it was similar to some another movie.There are tons of movies completely similar to another one. Even remakes of old movies are being made,WAKE UP.

3.They hate the fact that it made them cry like a little baby,so they just got pissed off.

4.They didn't understand the ending.They think Jo somehow survived and made people think that she is dead.So obviously those viewers found the movie as stupid.

People say its important to lower or higher your expectations before watching a movie.Well IMO,its not.The most important thing is to be positive and open-minded while watching a movie.Don't force yourself to find even the smallest thing to hate a movie.Just sit back,concentrate,and enjoy the story.

Sorry for grammar errors

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So true i agree on all your points.















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I understood the ending. I'm much older than 15. I thought it was stupid and contrived.

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There is a fifth explanation, which should actually be the only one -- it comes out of nowhere. Period. There is not the slightest suggestion anywhere that any of the characters believes in the supernatural, angels, reincarnation, ghosts, apparitions or anything otherworldly. So the ending is a cheat. It's insulting to the reader/viewer. It is hard to stay positive and open-minded about a movie that has such contempt for its audience.

(Next time you watch this, listen carefully to the voiceover while Katie reads the letter. It says n-o-t-h-i-n-g.) You would think that a woman who spends her dying days cranking out letters to her husband, and children -- to be read on every red letter day in their lives; and, peculiarly, to her successor in her husband's affections -- would have something to say on any number of subjects. The spectral Jo can only say what Nicholas Sparks tells her to, and in this case, that is nothing.

(I read the book and watched the movie because it's set where I live, and that's pretty much the only reason.)

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This one gets it! I felt the sane way. It basically flips you off at the end but sets it to heart warming music in hopes that you won't care.

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I agree with your statement, 100%. Couldn't say it any better. Additionally, the rest of the movie was a complete rip off of Sleeping With the Enemy (1990), which was done significantly better and with more conviction and true belief in fear of an abusive spouse. This guy evoked no fear or emotion in me nor his supposed wife.

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I thought it a well thought out letter. She's dying and that right soon. The production took the correct path here & made her up to reflect this as she puts pen to paper. I like the inversion of "Teach them wrong from right." instead of the standard "Right from wrong." I liked that the rebuild of the store will include that staircase, the one "Jo" used to traverse between those worlds. "Jo" told "Katie" quite a bit before the letter is handed over. About stopping running & standing your ground. And about (deserves). I like the way her voice breaks several times as the letter is read. I enjoyed the same [breaks] as "Samantha" too broke several times as "John" read her letter.

Death doesn't have to be total loss, ecjones.

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I have to agree that the ending was just poorly done.

Going to the supernatural well was a slap in the face with a wet towel.

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Because it was so random, the idea that she was a ghost came out of no where! Had they mentioned Angels watching over them, or maybe the characters were deeply religious or something like Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember, maybe I would've believed it, but it was unbelievable. I agree, it was a plot twist, I was shocked, but it was lame and stupid. Haha I didn't mind the plot twist when you find out the detective is really her husband. That was kind of cool, ill give it that.

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The twist didn't fit the movie. This was, up until the end, a realistic movie with no supernatural or otherworldly elements. Then we're suddenly told there's a ghost involved. Had this been a different kind of movie, it would have been a great twist. But the way it's presented, we could have had Jo turn out to be an alien, a lesbian, or an escaped terrorist mastermind, and the believability would have been the same. The movie moved its goalposts beyond all credibility.

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1) When the Jo's-a-ghost moment arrived, I immediately thought "bogus". I am 49 years old, and only saw the movie yesterday. Generally, those who believe in ghosts, and especially ghosts able to interact with humans as portrayed in Safe Haven, are the ones much younger than 15 years old. Note I said 'generally'.

2) You have a point there. But not a persuasive one. There is a massive difference between *similarity* (which define genres) and a blatant use of other people's creative ideas.

3) Cried? No. If it made you emotional, then good for you, but it's a fallacy to believe that everybody reacts the same way to situations. Personally, I cry often and can get overly emotional when reading moving books or watching fine movies - but not when a contrived ghost-explanation is introduced to the narrative. Please, I'm much more likely to cry upon discovering that the moon is not made of cheese.

4) With an ending that is s-p-e-l-l-e-d o-u-t, more than once, the only persons not understanding the ending would be like 15 days old, or younger.

Please click on 'reply' at the post you're responding to. Thanks.

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The ending was terrible, and pushed an 'ok' movie into a laughable joke. I would have been fine with the dead wife's spirit being in the film, if it was carried out with any attempt at subtlety - but the moment with the photo was the breaking point. Her recognition of the woman in the photo means she literally did meet the dead wife - as in 'ghosts are real'

That's just stupid - and not fitting with the rest of the film in any way. If the dad had randomly turned into a werewolf at the end - it would have been equally stupid. The ending was supposed to be emotional and just ended up a contrived mess.

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I was going to rate this movie as a good watch, but the ending made me rethink that.

I like the letter, but I don't like the ghost of beaches past.

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I liked the movie, I found it wonderful!

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Not to mention that Katie didn't have ONE DROP OF BLOOD ON HER AFTER SHE BLEW HER HUSBAND'S HEAD OFF?? yeah I doubt that!

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