Don't listen to the negative reviews

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I thought it will be great movie, one of the best that I watched, until I saw the end. The end was bad. So, my rating is 9.

It is tough to adapt a Teen adult romantic novel (just ask Twilight) but the problem with Dear John- which is a Nicholas Sparks novel is that there just isn't a great deal of emotional quotient to invest in. The pacing is uneven and the translation from book to screen is hampered by an uneven flow and pacing issues. Another factor is that the main leads Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried spend more time away from each other corresponding through letters and voice overs than with each other. The middle act is a drag and the third act somehow manage to shift the film's genre from romance to drama with all the focus on Tatum's character in Afghanistan and his relationship with his father. Dear John is a miss in many ways.

Lasse Hallström, the Swedish director who gave us Chocolat (2001), Gilbert Grape (1993) and Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) is at it again - making chick flicks for guys. This means, unlike your stereotypical chick flick whose leading man is a hollow beefcakey stud with as much personality as the scenery, here we get a complex beefcakey stud whom the chicks can swoon over whilst the bros say "duuuuude he's cool."In this case the protagonist is "John" (Channing Tatum) who plays an Army Special Forces character who can kill you with a toothpick but has total control over his emotions. Until, of couse, he meets "Savannah" (Amanda Seyfried) over his 2 week furlough before going back to war.As you might guess, the story explores the ultimate long distance relationship as John completes his 1 year tour as a soldier while Savannah waits at home. Sounds boring? Well wait, there are complications. John's father is autistic and his mother abandoned them years ago. So John is forced to be the responsible one, but the whole war/love thing throws him out of whack.Meanwhile Savannah has a few secrets of her own (and I gotta admit I totally didn't see it coming). And on top if it all, 9/11 hits and this forces John to make a decision whether to stay with his platoon and most likely get his butt blown off, or retire once his initial tour is over. Oh, and the movie begins with John getting blasted by gunfire, meaning the story unfolds in a huge flashback leaving us wondering the whole time if John dies or not.This is a very sentimental flick, much like the other Hallström movies I mentioned, but it doesn't get sappy or predictable. In fact at least 3 plot twists took me by total surprise. And I'm talking like "whoa duuuuude I never saw THAT coming" surprise."Dear John" focuses on interpersonal relationships when duty comes into play - and I'm not just talking about duty toward your country (a cleverly woven parallel), but duty to parents, children and those who need help. This is juxtaposed against selfish happiness, or the storybook love. Pay close attention to the characters' choices & sacrifices, and how these choices are based on duty/selflessness rather than "getting the girl". I think that's what makes this a unique romance. Whereas most Hollywood romance flicks focus on the problems of 2 lovers, "Dear John" presents us with an ideal love that is complicated by external loyalties.The trademark of Hallström movies is some other issue (not just love) driving the characters, and that's why these films aren't sappy or predictable. Another trademark is is use of gorgeous scenery, in this case the beaches of Charleston SC. He achieves a very nostalgic beach feeling, even for those of us who have only been to the beach once or twice in our lives (see also his film "Safe Haven" filmed in Southport, NC)."Dear John" is a quiet, sentimental film, so don't expect action, car chases & robots. But it delivers a few tricky plot twists, so it's never boring. If you're not familiar with Hallström's style, I'd say it's artistic without being over-the-top artsy. Think of Kieslowsky (Blue, White, Red trilogy) or Wim Wenders (Paris Texas, Wings of Desire) or possibly even Steven Soderbergh (Sex Lies & Videotape, Solaris, Magic Mike) and you'll have a general idea of how this film feels.

The story of the movie is extremely good. Sparks also showed the skill in this case. Still, I can not say that I liked this almost two hours. According to me, the main and serious lack of performance occurs when John receives a letter from Savannah that she believes. This is something that in my opinion the whole movie was taken in one direction that is completely wrong. First, I can not imagine that you love someone and you believe in the other way you have sworn in love. Second, more importantly. I'm sure it would be absolutely unrealistic to expect that they will be together after its release. Let's not forget, the two of them decided to return to the field and practically she betrayed him at the moment when he needed it most. As hard as it was, it was harder for him. He is a soldier, whose head was in his bag every day. Every letter from her, for him was the light in total darkness and chaos. It would be much better if the film was made to follow their common story while it is on one side of the earth, and it is on the other. And so until the final merger. There was room to do something like that and make a story that is happening in reality. Music in the movie is extraordinary. The movie would surely have gotten a much higher rating, only that the action was first found in the last third of the film.7,1/10