2012: The Year in Film: "John Carter" Review

So "John Carter" may well have fallen victim to the worst marketing campaign in the modern history of big-budget movies. From watching the trailer.. it's basically impossible to tell what the movie is about, what makes it special, and why it's anything other than just a flashy and utterly forgettable sci fi action-er rather than a legendary sci-fi franchise perhaps most deserving of a translation to the big screen. After seeing the bombardment of advertisements for this one and feeling like I was missing something, I did a little wikipedia research and discovered that "John Carter" is based on a series of novels dating from the 1910's and 1920's that are basically the grandfather of all epic sci fi. That's right, without John Carter, there's no Luke Skywalker, no Jake Sully, no Han Solo.. and that alone makes the movie worth checking out. At it's root, the John Carter books are about a Confederate War veteran who stumbles across a way to transport himself in between worlds, to Mars.. where he finds himself in the midst of a Martian Civil War. Let's throw in Timmy Riggins himself, one of the stars of "Friday Night Lights" and a cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Mark Strong, Dominic West and Wilhem Dafoe, intriguing source material and a massive budget.. and it becomes well worth seeing. So onto the movie, shall we?

It's the late 1800's, and Civil War veteran John Carter stumbles across a way to Mars, or "Barsoom" as the natives call it. On Mars, he encounters the Tharks, a noble and warlike species, as well as several warring human-like cities that threaten Barsoom itself. John Carter discovers that the martian environment has basically made him a superhero.. and he earns the respect and fear of the locals through his heroic and selfless actions. It's your classic hero's journey, so we'll leave the plot at that.



First, this movie is significantly better than I thought it would be.. and that's a good thing. The director (and writer) of Wall-E and Finding Nemo makes his transition to live-action (well, a soft transition, given all the CGI), and does an effective job.. the effects are great, there are some pretty stunning shots, and he gets a lot out of a cast that is often put into some ridiculous situations. Taylor "Tim Riggins" Kitsch is an effective leading man, and certainly has a future in the movies. Mark Strong and Dominic West aren't given a lot to do, but they (Strong, especially) are effective villains. Lynn Collins is simply great as Dejah, Princess of Mars.. she really is a revelation in what's basically her first big role. The Tharks are extremely likable, and there is a martian "dog" of sorts that is as charming as any CGI creature I've come across.

We're basically to the point where CGI looks "real" and can interact pretty seamlessly with live-action actors. The technology, cities, settings, vistas and creatures of Barsoom are incredible. There are some great action sequences as well.. Stanton clearly has a lot to offer in that regard.

I have two complaints. First, Kitsch simply isn't old enough to have played the part of John Carter. He does a good job, don't get me wrong, but the film opens in 1881, 16 years after the end of the Civil War, where John Carter was a married Captain and father. Kitsch is 30 years old and looks 28-32. Someone in their late 30's or early 40's would have been more appropriate for the role. But really, that's a minor complaint, as once the film moves to Mars it no longer matters. Second, the film sags in the middle, in an effort to explore some of the Martian mythology it sort of neglects the overarching plot. Now I understand that the studio intends to make this into a franchise.. but the actual plot of a single flick, ESPECIALLY the first flick should be paramount to the needs of the franchise or the film suffers as a result.

But all in all, those are minor complaints. There is some great source material here, well deserving of a film franchise, and it is executed well. Not perfectly, but very well. You can certainly see how much "Star Wars", "Avatar" and the Epic sci fi genre as a whole owes to the John Carter series. I was impressed, and absolutely will be watching this one again.

7.5/10. An imperfect, but well worthwhile time at the movies.