User reviews

"Every path you take leads to another choice. Some choices change everything." Travis (Walker) is a confirmed bachelor who loves being single and doing what he wants. When his new neighbor Gabby (Palmer) shows up at his house everything in him changes. Now Travis will stop at nothing to be with her. After all his pursuits he finally wins her over, but when the unthinkable happens Travis must once again make a choice that will affect both of their lives forever. Going in to this I was not excited at all. I know 99% of women love the Nicholas Sparks movies, but for me they are just too ridiculous. In the Notebook the main guy builds the woman he is obsessed with a house. In The Lucky One within a week of meeting the girl he fixes her car, boat and teaches her son to play baseball. It is hard for me to get past the perfect man image that is portrayed and they really lose me. Again, being a guy I am not the target audience for these movies. All that said this was, to me, the best of all the movies made from his books. The characters were actually real and believable. There were no over the top scenes and I was actually into this movie more than I expected. Without ruining anything, the ending did get over the top cheesy for me and lost me a little, but since this is a chick flick that is to be expected. Overall, it could have been because of my expectations but this was not a bad movie at all and is a date night movie women will love and men will be able to watch without too much pain. I surprisingly, extremely surprisingly, give this an A-.

I usually don't write reviews, but this movie was fantastic. The movie pulled at your heart throughout the entire movie. Its funny, sexy, and sad with a case of real life thrown in for good measure. The characters are fantastic, and the setting on the coast if beautiful. Did you ever have that real love in your live, and you could feel it slipping away, well this is the movie for you. What did you do to get it back, or to try and get it back? Did you walk away and say it wasn't meant to be, or did you fight for it? Did you give it your all? Well, take a watch of this one, and see what happens. You will be glad you went for a spin. Be prepared for a roller coaster for ups and downs on the emotional scale. In the end, can you make The Choice?

In the opening scenes of this film we see Travis (Walker) mulling over an unknown choice he has to make, en route to hospital, flowers in hand. Most of the film depicts the events leading up to this point.

Now, I stumbled on this film by idly setting it to record on a PVR (without knowing the slightest thing about it) and then watching it later on. To be honest when I usually do this, it is about 50:50 whether I bother to watch it at all; quite a few films get deleted without ever being seen all the way through; this percentage goes right up if it is what might be termed a 'chick flick' of merely average quality. However in this case, right from the start, I thought this was a well-crafted film, beautifully photographed and with a good soundtrack. I won't say I was hooked but I was sufficiently intrigued to watch it all the way through and to my surprise I was rather moved by it.

So my advice is that you should start watching this film with no prior knowledge and no expectations whatsoever; however if you are reading this it may already be too late, you may have already been told the main plot points, that the movie is terribly formulaic, yada yada yada. Too bad; watching a film is all about suspension of disbelief; this film is no different to most in that respect, and I'd argue that this one is best approached with almost no prior knowledge or expectations of any kind.

Maybe one or two expectations are OK; that of the North Carolina coastline being beautifully photographed as a backdrop to this film, and a nice soundtrack, not too much in your face. All movies paint a certain, usually somewhat unrealistic, view of reality, and this film is no exception; for example I don't think the coastline is ever filmed at low tide, when it is somewhat less, er, photogenic. The whole film is arguably similarly rendered, which hardly unusual and is the storyteller's prerogative, even though some folk might object to it.

Maybe if you are a chap who wants a movie to settle down and watch one evening in the company of a significant other, this would be a good choice; with too much prior knowledge (and a cynical head on) it would be easy to dismiss it as formulaic and schmaltzy, but if you are in the right mood this is a heartwarming, life-affirming story, nicely told. If I'd read half the reviews on here beforehand I probably wouldn't have bothered to watch this film at all, but I didn't and I judged it on its own merits, and to my great surprise it gets seven out of ten from me.

In a small coastal town, the veterinarian Travis Shaw (Benjamin Walker) works with his father Shep (Tom Wilkinson) and is very close to his beloved sister Steph (Maggie Grace). Travis is very successful with the women and dates Monica (Alexandra Daddario) every now and then. When the resident Gabby Holland (Teresa Palmer) moves to the next door house, she initially believes he is a pretentious man. But when her boyfriend Ryan MacCarthy (Tom Welling), who is fellow doctor in the same hospital where she works, needs to travel to another city, Gabby and Travis have a relationship and fall in love with each other. Out of the blue, Ryan returns and proposes to marry her. Now Gabby has to make a choice between her two loves.

"The Choice" is enjoyable love story with nice characters divided in two parts, beginning with a witty romance and ending with a heartbreaking drama. Teresa Palmer is the greatest attraction and never disappoints. The fat Tom Welling surprises those that followed the "Smalville" series. The unknown Benjamin Walker has a good performance and his declaration of his love to Gabby's family is the best part of this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Escolha" ("The Choice")

Another Nicholas Sparks' (The Notebook) novel adapted for the screen where there's some love, some sadness, some happiness and a dash of mystery. 'The Notebook' was such a captivating love story that it cemented Mr sparks word on romance as the only word. The many mediocre stories that followed proved otherwise. Perhaps it's in the medium and the storyteller's ability to take the novel and turn it into a successful screenplay? But 'The Last Song', where Mr Sparks flexed his screenplay talents, is without a doubt the worst of the bunch.

Neighbours, Travis and Gabby, meet as most annoying neighbours meet, in a heated engagement over noise, which quickly turns from outrage to mild intrigue to full on schoolyard-smitten.

She's a doctor to be from a wealthy family and he a vet from modest upbringings – complete with a southern accent even though neither his sister nor father shares this accent. How peculiar. Was Benjamin Walker merely flexing his craft for accents or was it that nobody wants to hear Tom Wilkinson attempt a southern accent? And then how does one make the creative decision, do we remove the southern charm or remove Tom Wilkinson? You remove neither and pretend no one will notice, which, as you can see, totally worked. Smooth transition, my foreign soul totally couldn't tell that the Parks family don't share a familial speech pattern. But major digression there.

So, the doctor to be and the wild and crazy animal doctor – I know right, a wild and crazy vet because that's so common to find – more digression.

So, they flirt over a litter of puppies and with a few smooth moves are engulfed in the intoxication of the other. Things seem to be moving on swimmingly until things stop moving along swimmingly. Mainly because it gets a little boring. Or a lot boring, depending on the type of person you are. But the boredom is there, how much you want to drink up is entirely up to you. I personally could have had fifteen per cent less and a tad more T&A but apparently there's more romance in the awkward middle than the sexy beginning.

Give or take a few captivating moments, 'The Choice' is not as moving as 'The Notebook', nor is it as sexy as "The Longest Ride" but it is nowhere near as brain-dead as "The Last Song" – take that for what its worth.

I found the journey delightful. And let's be fair, it isn't easy choosing between Superman and Travis and one of several questions raised is whether the latter's southern charm and wit will win through in the end. And of course the journey's not going to be a smooth one and it is advisable to have plenty of paper tissues handy for the last 20 minutes or so. While the leads were charming, the supporting cast were also excellent. In all, a lovely film that is perfect for a romantic occasion.

Veterinarian Travis Shaw (Benjamin Walker) falls in love with his new neighbor and medical student Gabby (Teresa Palmer). They marry, have kids and there is an accident and one of them has to make a life and death Choice. Hey, you did see the title of this, right?

Just like you need - from time to time - a really good, tasty cheeseburger you also need – from time to time- to watch a really good love story to let you know there is more to life than that really good, tasty cheeseburger. (stop already, I'm getting hungry) Having relative newcomers star in this makes everything seem more real than having seasoned actors star because we are not sure what the newcomers are going to do next.

This goes along at a good pace as the relationship builds with good flirty dialogues and really good serious dialogues later on. If truth be told we see that the serious dialogues prove to be the real winners in here. Also, the intensity in Travis' eyes from time to time when he looks at Gabby reminded me of the intensity of Bubba Watson's (pro golfer) eyes as he contemplates his next shot. And it is here we see something more real than was anticipated. And, of course, because Gabby is very pretty, the chemistry between them is spot on. (you falling in love again?)

Notables: It was nice to see Tom Welling as Ryan, the boyfriend before Travis. I hardly recognized him as he had bulked up to such a degree he could now play Superman (he played a young Clark Kent in the TV Smallville series). And Tom Wilkinson as Shep, Travis' doctor father.

This is very enjoyable and yet, we know an accident will happen later on and someone has to make a choice and everything is intensified. Keep a box of Kleenex handy as you are going to need it.

This movie is on par with THE BEST OF ME, by the same author Nicholas Sparks. (9/10)

Violence: Yes, the accident. And Ryan does punch Travis. Sex: Yes, but nothing graphic. Nudity: No. Language: No.

I'll save you some time. The lead female protagonist has zero redeeming qualities (no reflection on the actor - she did a great job of portraying a dreadful character). She is an objectively terrible person and I kept looking for a reason the male lead was into her apart from the fact that she's pretty. She cheats, leads people on, verbally abuses people, doesn't own up when she's in the wrong, rebukes, and criticizes, and we're supposed to be rooting for this girl? Seriously, why does the male lead like her so much? If a character is going to be that flawed, she has to be likable to redeem herself to the viewer. In a cliché Hollywood trope, the screenwriter was in far too much of a hurry to fling the two characters together to actually make the woman likable. (And yes, I have read the book. She has redeeming qualities in the book.)

I was a little sceptical of this movie at the start, however after watching it completely I was pleasantly surprised by this film it was truly great. I would certainly reccomend this movie.

I'm not a huge Nicholas Sparks fan but I have watched most all his movies. I've not read a single one of his books.

I'm a North Carolina native and I've been to most all the locations that his books and movies are set in.

Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are on my list of favorites.

I had no idea who the lead actors were before watching the movie.

Netflix has it rated as I highly ranked film so when I did a quick review I saw the Maggie Grace was in the cast so that made my decision for me.

Mr Sparks has a way with a story.

He knows how to appeal to the emotions that will move you.

In this movie, it's Travis and his belief and hope.

It's he family support from Travis' family and in a non-judgemental fashion.

We take this journey with Travis because of the choices that he has made. Not just him by Gabby as well.

Each choice has it's own cause and affect.

Yes, it's a love story so that's what you get.

It's a reminder that for some, things do work out.

This film will tug at your heart strings and you may find yourself misting up a little at the end.

Forgive me for saying this, but I'm a sucker for love stories. I'm more familiar with the Nicholas Sparks brand because I remember the first time I actually got involved with his stories and that was "A Walk to Remember". It's been 14 years since that wonderful movie and 17 years since his first book-to-film being "Message in a Bottle" and it seems that the Sparks brand is still going and so far, he has written 18 books with one more coming out later this year and 11 of his books has been translated to the screen. The 11th is the more recent one and that is "The Choice". Now, I'll be honest. We know where this stuff is going, we know that it's predictable and we know where the twists are at. Still, "The Choice" is an impressive movie and what made me chose this movie are the two stars that made me smile and care as two characters who have two separate choices to make in their lives. After she made a terrific lead turn in one of my favorite surprises of 2013, "Warm Bodies", the always luminous Teresa Palmer keeps that star shining even brighter as Gabby Holland, a young nurse who moves to North Carolina and is the next-door neighbor of Travis Shaw (Benjamin Walker), a veterinarian who is a fun-loving party animal who hangs out with his friends and loves to drive girls crazy. Their friendship immediately starts off on the wrong foot when Gabby's dog gets pregnant and she blames him for letting his dog impregnate her. He asks her out, she rebuffs him. Mainly that's because she has a boyfriend in Dr. Ryan McCarthy (Tom Welling), who goes out of town. Also Travis gets blind-sighted by Monica (Alexandra Daddario), the girl his friends call "the boomerang". Anyway, he takes a liking to her, even though she "bothers" him, and then their friendship turns into something more than that. Then, in the tradition of Sparks, a tragedy happens and Travis and Gabby has to make two different choices. For Gabby, which man does she want to wake up with the next morning. For Travis, it's something a little more personal that I can't reveal. Usually, I stick around for the third-act of any Sparks movies to find out what happens next, but the third-act of "The Choice" is very obvious and somewhat dry. Like I said, we know what happens throughout the story, even if the final effect turns out to be something a little different. But what saves the movie and that last act are the magnetic chemistry of Palmer and Walker. Even though they may not match the magic of Noah & Allie, Landon & Jamie, Luke & Sophia, John & Savannah....and so on, Travis & Gabby are appealing, flawed and earnest people. They do argue with one another most of the time, but there is a lot of love there for the rest of the time. These two actors have it, especially Walker (remember him as "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"?), who shows a lot of emotions that shows up right in the final act. The movie also gets some solid support from Maggie Grace as Travis's sister, Stephanie and Tom Wilkinson, still superb as always as Dr. Shep, who is Travis's dad and also a veterinarian. It's also not afraid to show some humor in there too. Whether you think it's intentional or unintentional, well, that's your choice. I like the movie and the actors, so that's my opinion. However, I think that Mr. Sparks should try something a little more original and unpredictable. I know there's a reason why he's called the master of romance because he does appeal to the women as well as the hopeless romantics. He does produces some lavishing productions, though. I'm only hoping for it and I'm just saying.

I loved everything about this movie!!!!! I cant believe it took me a long time to see it.

Excellent movie! I felt feeling I haven't felt in a long time.

The Choice (2016)

Summary:

Travis Walker is a carefree man that lives in a small town. His only responsibilities include his dog and the job he loves. He has a love for women, but is not the type of man that you would see settling down at anytime. This changes when a beautiful woman named Gabby Palmer, who has a love for dogs and a firecracker personality, moves in next door. As a rough first impression puts Travis on her bad side, he will do all it takes to win Gabby over. When Travis finally gets his way and all seems to be going as planned, the most horrible event happens. Travis is put on the spot and forced to make the hardest decision of his life. This decision will not only affect him, but most of the others in the movie also. The movie is all about the choices made in life and how to deal with the outcomes of your choices, which is a great life lesson.

Characters: 8/10

The cast in this film is overall pretty good. Most of them seem to be experienced in their field and love doing what they do, which is obvious by how well they play their parts. In some films it is obvious that the actors are inexperienced and might be trying too hard to play the part. In a good actor the part should come naturally. I only noticed an actor or two that were the so called "try hard" actors that weren't very good at playing their assigned part. For example, the character Gabby seems to over exaggerate her part throughout the movie. She plays the part with excitement, but it seems a little forced and awkward for her. Since Gabby is such a big role in the movie, I gave this section an 8 because I feel like that one character really changed the tone of the movie. The majority of the remaining cast looked very experienced.

Story Line: 9/10

For the most part, the story line was easy to follow throughout the whole film. It was not often that you felt the need to rewind and re-watch something because it did not make sense. However, this movie is a love story, so sometimes those can get slightly confusing when dealing with indecision about feelings. The love story aspect is the only thing that slightly messed with my head throughout the movie, which is why I gave it a 9 instead of a 10. Overall I really like the story line and the outcome of the movie. I think the story really flowed and was a romance pleaser. When tragedy strikes the young couple it's time to hold on and stick with it to the end. Even though this part of the story is hard to watch, its not something you will want to miss. The ending really teaches a great lesson that anyone could use in life. I feel as if the great story line takes this film out of the strictly chick flick category.

Predictability: 4/10

This film is very predictable, but this should not make someone refuse to watch it unless you absolutely hate being able to predict the end. If you are familiar with Nicholas Sparks' previous novels that have been made into films, you know that they are predictable love stories. This does not mean that the story and plot are bad, though. I gave the predictability aspect a 4/10 because I felt like I knew how it was going to end even from the beginning of the movie. There are tragedies that happen throughout that are not expected, but the ending is still pretty easy to call out. As stated above I really like the story, which is why I think even though it is predictable it is still a movie that can be enjoyed.

Overall Score: 7/10

I think that this movie is overall pretty good. The film is fit for just about anyone, even though it is a romance. I believe that anyone could get into the story line and really enjoy themselves while watching it. Yes, the story is predictable, but do not let that stop you from giving the film a chance. Many people probably will not watch it because they believe it is a chick flick, but I think that this is a silly term used and not a very good excuse to not watch a movie. However, I think that the moral of this movie is really good and everyone can learn a lesson from watching it.

If you would like to see the review that includes pictures, go to this website: http://thechoicereview.weebly.com/review.html

to have this really cool script be as long as the novel on the screen! lol! You had me at, well I don't know exactly where I fell for this lil' tale, yet I know I fell hard, lurching over the precipice where only bubble headed chicks dare to dream, I too began to swoon at how delicately and carefully crafted the impassioned filaments which make up the warp and woof of this immemorial ultra-classic romance unfolded before my grey pebbled eyes. Lurching over that place most people languish deep in dreams of yore or a surreal foretaste to requite beyond the horizon of concupiscence, I was borne, transfigured, and transcended. Poised high on a solitary perch, by and by, I lurched with quickened pulse, pitched to manumit my hitherto tethered heart and descended headlong toppling down into an abyss hand in hand with this really sweet script, tickled by all sweet Southern charm one can swallow. I know I fell cause when it was all over and the dust settled, not only my bruised achy bum achy, but my head and my lil' heart as well. Bleeding gooey aches of sappy love all over my bloody heart - I realized: 'Dang It, It Bothered me.' Really cute flix, really adorable, I did not read the novel, I just hope the adaptation was formidable to proper novel probity. But either way, as a tale in this medium, it played out really nicely, every scene plucking harder and tugging faster at an already achy breaky heart.

Greetings from Lithuania.

I think people and especially critics were a little bit to harsh on "The Choice" (2016). While it as usually has many, many, many eye rolling moments (and did i say many?), predictable plot "twists", meet- cute love, some descent photography of beautiful sight seeings of the most romantic and beautiful place on Earth (accoring to Nicholas Sparks) - North Carolina - this flick isn't bad. It has more then OK acting by both leads and OK performance by a great Tom Wilkinson, some very nice pacing (at running time 1 h 44 min this movie barely drags) and ... that's pretty much it about good things.

Overall - this is corny as hell and far from the best or even good Nicholas Sparks adaptations, still this is not a bad movie to see it once, if you know what are you getting into.

The choice is a romantic involving 2 main character: Travis and gabby.the film is about Travis having to make a decisions which may save gabby's life. They start off with a little friendship but it escalates very quickly as they have a very strong connection and you see the real side of them come out from being around the other person and yes for you dogs lovers there are very cute puppies in it too. The film is very intriguing and is a good film to watch.I didn't want to give it away in what happens but if you watch the trailer i'm sure you will be very curious to what happens and will want to watch. Enjoy the film if you are going to watch.