Dear John. As In Dear John letter. Thats a pretty big clue to where this tale of star-crossed lovers is going to end up. However, while its easy to be cynical (its The Iraq War Notebook!) , credit where credits due, because the path Dear John takes to reach this inevitable point isnt one youd expect – nor is the hour or more of the film that takes place afterwards.

John (Tatum) is a young man with a troubled past and a fractious relationship with his father (the effortlessly classy Jenkins). In true chest-thumping style, that troubled past has pretty much been left behind thanks to a stint in the Army: amazing how being trained to kill foreigners can be so therapeutic, isnt it?

On leave one day, John runs into Savannah (Seyfried), a rich girl with a movie-style heart of gold. You can tell this because she helps builds houses for the poor and has a close bond with the autistic son of old family friend Tim (Thomas). The result is love at virtually first sight but, after a whirlwind week or two, he has to go back in the Army to see out his final 12 months. Once thats completed though, the two can be together and, of course, theyll write to each other daily. And they do. However, just as Johns service is drawing to a close, two planes fly into the World Trade Center forcing him into a choice between country and true love. John opts for the former, Taliban-hunting route. Savannah, on the other hand, goes the titular letter-writing one. Damn you Bin Laden…

The twist, as mentioned above, is that this all takes place in the films second act, sending the story off in unanticipated directions and splitting the focus between the romantic fallout, Johns relationship with his emotionally closed-off – but likely Aspergers suffering – father, and What Savannah Did Next. For that, Halstroms film deserves some praise but it doesnt make this a romantic classic, whatever the American Box Office takings – $80m and counting – suggest.

Both Tatum and Seyfried can be good – A Guide To Recognising Your Saints and Alpha Dog proved that – but, while they work hard here, particularly Tatum, the script does them no favours. Basically, theyre just required them to look beautiful, which they can also do, although Seyfrieds eyes seem to get bigger with every film. Having joked that she occasionally resembles ET, I like to think that Hallstrom feels the same, which is why he cast her opposite Henry Thomas…

But I digress. If youre looking for something to give your heartstrings a slightly mindless tug (presumably until the next Twilight movie comes along) you could do a lot worse. A quick flick through Love Film or your local Blockbuster though will show you that you could also do a LOT better.