Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Dear John Review - No spoilers

This post has *NO SPOILERS*

if you want spoilers, more details, have read the book or seen the movie or both and don't mind spoilers Click Here

This post is safe.

I have been looking forward to seeing Dear John for a long time and was thrilled to be given screening passes from a totally rad person!

Anyways - I *JUST* finished the book and I can say you don't have to read the book to see the movie, but I suggest reading it anyways, it is better than the movie in my opinion (with the exception of eye-candy Channing Tatum, though I pictured him as I read anyways rawr!)

John Tyree's house is almost as I pictured it in the book, as is the beach and the pier and the ranch.... the beach house was not as a envisioned though.

There were some *MAJOR* changes to plot, characters, timeline, events, dialouge, and settings.... things that I don't think had to neccessarily change....

Don't get me wrong, I know changes are always made, but many of these were just - so different... perhaps having *JUST* read the book it bothered me more (though I had literally just finished Twilight hours before seeing it in theatre...)

Overall the movie is enjoyable, I didn't NEARLY as much as I did when I read it - partly because I was trying to wrap my head around the changes and omissions in the movie.

I also didn't get the chemistry between Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum and I'd even go so far as to say that I didn't like Amanda in this role - period.

I don't know if it was the script or her portrayal but I just didn't feel like she *WAS" Savannah Curtis.

Channing Tatum, well, I am biased, I adore him - like, he could just sit there and breathe for two hours and I'd watch, but I did think he did a fairly good job of John Tyree with the exception of a few over-acted scenes.

The star of the show was definately Richard Jenkins, who plays John Tyree's father. I can't say much without spoiling the plot but he is fantastic.

John Tyree is a soilder, and there seemed to be a lot more "war" scenes than in the book... maybe to draw in the husbands who were dragged by their wives ;)

But, there are (as I said) some events that occur that aren't even close to things in the book - - - they also alter the timeline of the story, which I understand shortening for movie-making purposes, but it just lessened parts of the movie for me, who enjoyed the book.

Overall, a B- Movie I would say, which isn't bad... but read the book for sure (before or after the movie, it won't matter... there are many differences, though the general themes and overall outcome are pretty much the same)

**SPOILER POST HERE**

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