Book and Movie Review of The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks's The Lucky One is one of my favorite of his books that I've read. The story is strong and the characters feel real. It was adapted into a movie in 2012, and while I loved the movie there were a number of differences between it and the book.
Logan is an ex-marine who found a photo lying on the ground during a tour of duty in Iraq. The photo was of a woman, and on the back was her name, Elizabeth. After trying to find who the photo belonged to and wasn't able to, he kept it and it seemed to be a good luck charm for everything from poker to combat.
When he arrived home, he decided to find Elizabeth. After tedious research, he was able to discover where the photo was taken and trekked on foot from Colorado to North Carolina with his dog, Zeus. After locating and meeting her, he finds himself unable to tell her about the photo. Instead, he develops a friendship and love for her as well as a companionship with her young son.
However, Elizabeth has an ex-husband who harbors a deep animosity for Logan due to his involvement in Elizabeth's life and Logan's knowledge of his misuse of his position as a police officer. Keith is controlling and manipulative with Elizabeth, but she has no idea the lengths he will go to keep his hold over her and drive Logan away.
Underneath all of it is the secret of the photo and Logan's discovery of why he came across the photo in the first place.
The book was wonderful, and I loved the way it flowed between narratives by Logan, Elizabeth, and Keith. They each had a unique voice and way of thinking about the world.
I give this book:
The movie left out a lot of things I really liked about the book. Keith's malice was greatly downplayed and I was disappointed to not see how truly intelligent Logan was. They made him much younger and less accomplished in the movie, only completing a year of college before enlisting. In the book, he completed a bachelor's degree before enlisting and chose not to take the opportunity to have a higher rank he was offered due to his education.
Events were changed as was the location, making it Louisiana instead of North Carolina. The true nature of Logan and Keith's animosity was completely left out, leaving it as simply a rivalry over Beth. The discovery of the photo was also very different.
However, in itself the movie was good. The depth of Keith's malice would have made the movie much darker and the inclusion of all of the story line behind his and Logan's rivalry would have made the movie much longer. I was happy to see how they portrayed Logan's relationship with Beth's son and how it differed from that with his dad.
The chemistry between the actors who play Logan and Beth was wonderful, and while I don't think Zac Efron would have been a good choice to play Logan as he existed in the book, for the script he did fit the role well.
Despite the differences, I give this movie:
Logan is an ex-marine who found a photo lying on the ground during a tour of duty in Iraq. The photo was of a woman, and on the back was her name, Elizabeth. After trying to find who the photo belonged to and wasn't able to, he kept it and it seemed to be a good luck charm for everything from poker to combat.
When he arrived home, he decided to find Elizabeth. After tedious research, he was able to discover where the photo was taken and trekked on foot from Colorado to North Carolina with his dog, Zeus. After locating and meeting her, he finds himself unable to tell her about the photo. Instead, he develops a friendship and love for her as well as a companionship with her young son.
However, Elizabeth has an ex-husband who harbors a deep animosity for Logan due to his involvement in Elizabeth's life and Logan's knowledge of his misuse of his position as a police officer. Keith is controlling and manipulative with Elizabeth, but she has no idea the lengths he will go to keep his hold over her and drive Logan away.
Underneath all of it is the secret of the photo and Logan's discovery of why he came across the photo in the first place.
The book was wonderful, and I loved the way it flowed between narratives by Logan, Elizabeth, and Keith. They each had a unique voice and way of thinking about the world.
I give this book:
The movie left out a lot of things I really liked about the book. Keith's malice was greatly downplayed and I was disappointed to not see how truly intelligent Logan was. They made him much younger and less accomplished in the movie, only completing a year of college before enlisting. In the book, he completed a bachelor's degree before enlisting and chose not to take the opportunity to have a higher rank he was offered due to his education.
Events were changed as was the location, making it Louisiana instead of North Carolina. The true nature of Logan and Keith's animosity was completely left out, leaving it as simply a rivalry over Beth. The discovery of the photo was also very different.
However, in itself the movie was good. The depth of Keith's malice would have made the movie much darker and the inclusion of all of the story line behind his and Logan's rivalry would have made the movie much longer. I was happy to see how they portrayed Logan's relationship with Beth's son and how it differed from that with his dad.
The chemistry between the actors who play Logan and Beth was wonderful, and while I don't think Zac Efron would have been a good choice to play Logan as he existed in the book, for the script he did fit the role well.
Despite the differences, I give this movie:
Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth
Stars Image Credit: lovethenerddesigns
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