JOHN CARTER (2012)

JOHN CARTER (2012)

Tagline: Lost in Our World. Found in Another.

(Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi) [PG-13]

Now you are grown, time and space have parted us, but I reach out across that distance, to that same wide-eyed boy and ask him to believe me once more. This wild tale begins thirteen years ago, in the Arizona Territory, between the Pinaleño Mountains and the backside of hell.

When we start looking at films and franchises that “should” have been huge, I am going to throw JOHN CARTER into that mix. Sadly, the movie flopped here in the US, for seemingly various reasons, but one was likely marketing. In Russia for instance the movie was huge after the trailers were tweaked. 

In this one, the Civil War has ended and veteran John Carter is asked to join the army. He says no and ends up getting locked up. After escaping he ends up fleeing to a cave where he runs into a medallion that transports him to freakin Mars. You read that right. On Mars, he ends up meeting all kinds of aliens and discovers that Mars itself is dying while the forces that exist there have issues of their own. 

The Good – This movie is successful at tons of things. One is that the story is engaging and flows really well. While it does take a while to get going, the film doesn’t fail to stay intriguing. The acting is superb all the way around. Lynn Collins is awesome as Dejah Thoris (or the Princess of Mars). Collins is best known for playing Kayla Silverfox in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, but she’s also in RIM OF THE WORLD which is way better. The maligned Taylor Kitsch (probably best known for BATTLESHIP) plays a very effective and likable JOHN CARTER and we even have Willem Dafoe on the set…only he’s playing an alien so it’s not super clear it’s him. Mark Strong is also in this as Matai Shang. Right now, he is probably best known for being the main villain in SHAZAM. 

The effects atmosphere and design work for this flick are freakin amazing. There isn’t much “not” to love in this thing and the ending is amazingly satisfying. There is even a really cool dog-like alien in this movie that is massively loyal to John Carter that adds some heart to this movie on more than the obvious levels. Needless to say, I watch this movie every chance I get, I liked it that much. Andrew Stanton the director gets a ton of grief for this movie, but even after his own complaints about the final product, I still loved it. 

The Bad – For some people, I think the suspension of disbelief is just too hard to overcome. For some reason, JOHN CARTER can leap hundreds of feet at a time when he gets to Mars. No explanation is given for this. He can also breathe with no spacesuit on. Given what we know about Mars now, this isn’t plausible. There are similar issues with everything FLASH GORDON, which might explain why that property also hasn’t been successfully re-launched on screen in decades. I love 1950’s sci-fi stuff when we didn’t know a ton about space, so for me, this isn’t a bad thing (who cares, it’s a movie), but I understand the complaint. Outside of that, however, I really can’t think of why anyone wouldn’t love this thing. It’s got it all and doesn’t feel in any way like it’s trying to do too much. 

For its creative genius, this adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs work is stellar in its efforts and attention to detail leaving its own mark while still respecting fans of the original books, I give JOHN CARTER a 7 out of 7 and wish they had continued this version of the series.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF WALT DISNEY PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.  

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless. Until next time.