If you’re a fan of Nicholas Sparks, you’ve liked read all of his books and have taken the time to sit through all of the movie adaptations. His newest is The Longest Ride, which was released on April 10, 2015. The movie follows in the footsteps of the novel, which maintains the same name. The pair follow three different characters and present the story from each’s point of view. Is The Longest Ride movie cast capable of pulling it together and making the film into a success story?

The movie stars Scott Eastwood, as the Professional Bull Rider, Luke Collins. After a terrible injury, he returns to the sport and meets with his new romantic fascination, Sophia Danko (Britt Robertson). The cliche romantic gestures continue for what seems like eternity, until the movie begins to get interesting. The pair wind up going out on a date and saving an older gentleman, Ira Levinson (Alan Alda). Ira has an emotional and enthralling story to tell, so Sophia visits him regularly and listens intently. Ira tells about his younger self, who is played by Jack Huston.

Ira tells about his glory days, meeting his wife, Ruth (Oona Chaplin), and their good days together. The story begins to get darker, as Ira and Ruth advance into the heated battles of WW2. This is where the movie shines, although it is somewhat bleak. Unfortunately, the majority of the film is plagued, by the annoyance of Scott Eastwood and his cheesy obsession with bull riding.

Sophia isn’t much better. Unfortunately, The Longest Ride movie cast falters, because there is very little to no chemistry between Sophia and Luke. At times, it feels like the film would have a more fitting ending, if Luke were to accidentally get his head crushed by a bull. Eastwood’s facial gestures throughout give off the vibe of a coke fiend looking to score.

Overall, half of the story is good, but the other half is less than lackluster. The movie would be much more fulfilling, if it was to cut Sophia and Luke from the picture. The tale of Ira and Ruth was the only glue that held the pieces together.

Still, it is likely that people will adore the movie and the “magnificent” acting of Scott Reeves. Who? Yes, better switch that last name to Eastwood, in order to secure more roles. Again, half of the movie is great, but the other half is insignificant, cheesy and poorly acted. For that, the film deserves a 5.5 out of 10.