Despite good intentions, young actors Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried star in the film and show a real physical attraction toward one another that ends up falling emotionally flat on-screen.

In the critical and climatic scenes, both actors seem to be inconsistent in their commitment to their characters.

The film shows one too many montages of the couple enduring war and family hardship and one too many hospital visits for my taste and appears to try and force the natural connection “The Notebook” fans would no doubt be going to the film for in the first place.

Like previous Sparks’ films, “Dear John” includes the staple rainy, romantic scenes, only this time around they are neither tear-jerking nor realistic.

Their love story begins on the Carolina coast, where Tatum is on leave for the Army Special Forces and Seyfried is on spring break. The couple unexpectedly meets and is supposed to represent a relationship of the old “opposites attract” vein.

Tatum, portrayed as a tough guy turned soldier, raised solely by his dad (Richard Jenkins), while Seyfried plays Savannah, a rich preppy girl with a youthful innocence who came to the coast to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.

The short half hour or so of Tatum and Seyfried falling for each other does not serve justice to the romance that Sparks dreamed up in his novel.

After just two weeks, their love is put to the test when Tatum leaves to complete his 12-month enlistment overseas and Seyfried proceeds to write letters to him (hence “Dear John”).

When John must choose between love and duty after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the potential of their “love at first sight” connection is further complicated. His war adventures will make you thankful, at the very least, for being able to e-mail as opposed to using John and Savannah’s snail mail technique.

Tatum’s performance consists mostly of poorly produced war scenes and a weak interpretation of his internal struggle of love, war and reality.

Seyfried, known for her role in “Mean Girls,” has developed as an actress but shows a faint effort for representing a young woman falling in and out of love with John.

In the time they do spend together, the couple is featured in aggressive make-out scenes that show more passion than the many voice-overs heard from the letters they write to each other.

The actors did little to show that they were developing an emotional relationship aside from the physical affection they portrayed on-screen. In fact, their natural chemistry was really the only indication there was any sort of relationship growing between the two characters.

Had the actors productively used their likability and blatant physical attraction toward each other, their scenes together would have been much more effective.

Jenkins plays the role of John’s dad, who Savannah suspects is autistic, and really upstages the couple with his acting skills.

Following Jenkins’ struggle from beginning to end is what kept much of my interest throughout the film, and if it weren’t for his role, this movie would be even more of a disappointment.

Despite the potential the actors had and the promise of another hit from Sparks, “Dear John” fell short of its predecessors — and my expectations.