Dear John

Nicholas Sparks knows how to write about love that moves mountains. And even though the film doesn't reach the quality of the disarming source material, the story still works in a smaller space, sufficiently fateful. Although Channing Tatum never delivered such a good performance again and Amanda Seyfried wasn't yet skilled enough in the dramatic genre, it doesn't really matter. However, what bothers me after a few years is the changed ending compared to the book, which somewhat embarrasses the whole aura of emotional growth and turns Dear John into more of a sweet romance than anything else. I still understand those two, but now it's a bit too little. (13/06/2010)

Nicholas Sparks is the king of kitsch among women's novels, and his adaptations are exactly that. This one is at least somewhat elevated by a reasonably capable Amanda Seyfried, but Channing Tatum can't seem to work his facial muscles and walks around like a dummy for the entire film. On paper, it may be less appalling, although I don't put much faith in that either. An implausible exaggerated story with so many tear-jerking decoys... (31/01/2020)

Solid entertainment. There are no stupid romantic clichés , the people behind this film understood that if they were going for a romantic plot with a missing comedic undertone and they wanted it to be watchable, they needed to reflect on the whole thing a bit. It’s very similar with the casting of the main roles, it worked out quite well, especially in the case of Channing Tatum – he’s getting better every day. Occasionally, the film is slightly predictable, but it can be endured. Fortunately, it’s not lacking intelligence, though don’t expect anything groundbreaking, it is still Hallström, after all. He knows how to play with emotions in a very classic way that may be slightly derivative, but still has an impact. (26/06/2010)

Nicholas Sparks is a certainty. You always know you're going to get something touching that also tries to tell a pretty interesting story. Unfortunately, the fact that Channing's character is a soldier here is completely unnecessary; he could just as well be an international businessman. But the characters and their relationships are interesting enough to captivate you. (01/11/2016)