Now that Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean has pretty much run its course after the disappointment that was On Stranger Tides and Prince of Persia flopped. John Carter rolls into cinemas in hopes of becoming Disney’s next blockbuster series, with Andrew Stanton at the helm. Based (loosely) on Edgar Rice Burroughs; Barsoom book series (1912-43). John Carter tells the story of a former American Civil War captain (John Carter) who transported to Mars, (named Barsoom by its inhibitors) learns that the planet is dying. Only a peaceful alliance between the planets people can save the planet from complete death, a goal Carter sets out to achieve.
Due to majority of the films supporting cast being four armed aliens the film has until now been relatively unachievable due to CGI only just coming into its own as of the 20th century. Further setbacks, script re-writes and numerous director changes have also prolonged the film’s release, thus really hurting John Carter. It may appear that the film is ripping off the likes of; Conan, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars due to massive similarities. Yet the stuff those franchises ripped off were originally ripped straight from the pages of John Carter. In fact the film holds such striking scene similarities with Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones that you may believe you’re watching it.
The films primary villains Matai Shang (Mark Strong) and Sab Than (Dominic West) are both regrettably dull and boring. Both actors are given little to work with and with such brilliant cinematic villains coming to light in the past several years the bar is set very high. However, perhaps the biggest problem John Carter has is John Carter himself. Stuck with the generic Hollywood protagonist role John Carter is bland and hard for the audience to connect with. Carter, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch who; is by no means a bad action hero. is simply unbelievable and modern when it comes to playing the real time earth scenes. The majority of the film however is set on Mars, in which Taylor’s modern portrayal of John Carter doesn’t matter.
Thankfully the film does have its saving graces. The rich culture of the Tharks displayed in the film enable characters such as Sola (Samantha Morton) and Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) to easily become some of the most enjoyable characters in the film. Not to mention John Carters pet Woola, who is an absolute delight to watch. Meanwhile Lynn Collins’ Dejah Thoris, is perhaps one of the most recent great female science fiction characters to grace the big screen. Strong, smart, brave and not to mention beautiful she is everything the protagonist should have been.
Being that this is both a Disney film and being released as an intentional Hollywood blockbuster numerous differences can be spotted between the original novels and the film. While understandable that the characters can’t be completely naked (as the books state), it’s is a shame to lose the magic that made the books so successful. Had the film remained true to the novels and not been afraid to go a little darker the film may have appealed to a wider audience. Fans of the novels will unfortunately be more than likely disappointed.
Some exciting battle scenes, unique imagery, fantastic CGI, brilliant supporting cast and brief comedic moments help make the film an enjoyable watch. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the designated target audience or looking for a stunning, easy to watch film. Just save yourself some pennies and watch it in 2D, as 3D adds little to nothing to the general experience.
Popcorn & Soda Rating: 3/5
