Disappointing Soap-Opera

Rating: 3/10 (20 September 2010)

In the spring of 2001, the Sergeant of the Special Forces John Tyree (Channing Tatum) meets the medical student Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) while surfing in Charleston during his leave and they immediately fall in love for each other. They spend a couple of weeks together and Savannah meets John's autistic father Mr. Tyree (Richard Jenkins) and John befriends her friend Tim Wheddon (Henry Thomas). When the enlistment period of John and his platoon ends, there are the attacks on the World Trade Center and John and the other soldiers decide to reenlist for two more years. John corresponds with Savannah until she stops writing and two months later, Savannah tells that she will get married.
I had great expectations with "Dear John", based on the previous works of the Swedish director Lasse Hallström. The beginning is nice, with Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum showing great chemistry in a pleasant romance. The reenlistment of John Tyree is acceptable based on a troubled moment of his country. However, the attitude of Savannah getting married with an older guy without any motive is inconsistent with her conservative profile and incoherent with the whole plot, and destroys the so far good romance, turning into a silly and disappointing soap opera. The terrible commercial last scene is corny and awful. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil):"Querido John" ("Dear John")