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Movie Review: Disney’s “John Carter” – A Fantastical Sci-Fi Adventure You Don’t Want To Miss! #JohnCarter

Movie Review: Disney’s – John Carter

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Length: 132 min

Release Date: Friday, March 9, 2012

Rating: ★★★★★★

 

If you haven’t heard of John Carter of Mars, he is the creation of brilliant American author Edgar Rice Burroughs. You may recognize Burroughs from his most famous character – Tarzan.  Admittedly, I didn’t know about the stories of “John Carter of Mars” but I got a very eye-opening education, not only by watching the film but listening to the passionate director, Andrew Stanton, speak after the screening. If Stanton’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he directed Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Wall-E.

Disney's John Carter – ©2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Going into the screening, having little information on the film’s premise and only seeing two trailers, I was nervously excited to see what would unfold with this new venture. I’m a fan of sci-fi but, of course, many of my friends know I’m very partial to the paranormal and supernatural genres. Let me just say, I’m now more enamored with science fiction than you can shake a stick at (whatever that means). John Carter blew my expectations out of the water! The 3D effects are amazing and the action is stupendous! The cinematography, art direction, and visual effects are surely going to garner quite a few nominations for awards season next year! John Carter captivates and entertains from the moment it starts to its very cryptic ending! Rarely has a movie, especially of this genre and length, had me so enthralled—I stalled going to the bathroom until the very last second because I didn’t want to miss one moment of the film. I caution you: it’s a long movie so it may not be fit for kids who can’t sit for very long. It’s highly entertaining and keeps your attention but when you’re eight years old, two hours is like an eternity! And do not get the large soda – you don’t want to miss the battle with the giant white apes!

At any rate, I am now going to my local library and check out all 11 books of Burroughs in the John Carter of Mars series. Yes, 11 books and yes, I said library. Read first then, buy later to add to your collection. Also, you’ll be supporting your local libraries and membership is FREE!

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter Photo Cr: Frank Connor– ©2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

I won’t bore you with technical details. Instead, I’ll dive into the nitty gritty—that being Taylor Kitsch in the lead role. If you aren’t familiar with Kitsch’s body of work (pun intended), he played the hunky, albeit troubled, football star in Friday Night Lights; he was Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine; and he was in one of my favorite guilty pleasure films, The Covenant. (It’s chock full of hot guys who are warlocks. Rent it!) Ahem, I digress. Well, I’m sure there were plenty of nay-sayers who thought Kitsch was the wrong choice for the role of outcast Confederate Captain John Carter of Virginia, but I’m here to tell you he is amazing! Of course, not having read Burroughs’ works, hearing the director himself sing Kitsch’s praises of being suited to the role was enough for me. I am willing to bet a pretty penny many of the movie goers who will be watching haven’t read Burroughs’ works either but that doesn’t diminish Kitsch’s fine performance, both clothed and barely clothed. (For those out there who care – he’s sporting a loin-cloth throughout most of the film – thank you Mr. Burroughs and the wardrobe department!)

John (Taylor Kitsch) is a tortured man. He lost a great deal in the war and he’s now gone off the grid in search of “spider gold” in the caves of Arizona. He stumbles upon a cave with unusual glyphs. When a strange being appears out of nowhere, John defends himself and shoots the stranger who is whispering some sort of chant. The only discernible word is “barsoom” and with the uttering of this word, John is transported to what we know as Mars. Later we learn Jasoom is Earth and Barsoom is Mars.

Tal Hajus (L, voiced by Thomas Haden Church) questions Tars Tarkas (center, voiced by Willem Dafoe) about not killing John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) – ©2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

While John tries to figure out where he is, he gets up off the ground to explore his surroundings (which look very much like the Arizona desert). Every step is a leap, which catches him off balance, thrusting him into the ground repeatedly. He realizes he’s able to leap great distances on Mars—for some strange reason—and has superhuman strength as well. It’s not clearly explained why or how he has these extraordinary abilities, but it’s very entertaining to watch him basically learn how to walk (so to speak) for the first time on Mars.

John encounters strange green beings that are well over 12 ft tall, each having two sets of arms and tusks. Their leader, Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), thinks John is a positive sign from the Goddess (unseen) signaling a change is coming to Barsoom. Tars takes John captive but of course, John doesn’t sit idly by, content to be a prisoner. He continually tries to escape, only to be foiled by the lovable, adorably ugly Martian dog-like creature, who has taken a liking to him.

L-R: Lynn Collins as Princess Dejah of Helium and Taylor Kitsch as John Carter Photo Cr: Frank Connor– ©2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

John is the kind of guy you just automatically find dashing and interesting. He’s a cross between a southern gentleman and rugged frontiersman who has no qualms about getting into a brawl with anyone. As the story progresses, you learn he is a beloved uncle and a well respected soldier. He’s an honorable man but he’s not without flaws. I think that’s what I love about so-called heroes – their flaws. Even those with great abilities are not perfect, making them human, so to speak.

This movie boasts a very well-rounded cast, from Dafoe as the leader of the green Martians, if you will, to his power hungry second in command, Tal Hajus (Thomas Haden Church, Sideways, Spiderman 3). Then we jump over to the people of Helium and their “Jeddak” or leader Tardos Mors (Ciarán Hinds, The Sum of All Fears, Munich), his second in command Kantos Kan (James Purefoy, A Knight’s Tale, Rome (TV series)), and of course, the lovely Princess Dejah (Lynn Collins, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Angels Crest). What also excites me is seeing Mark Strong as one of the Therns known as Matai Shang. Strong is a terrific actor! He is fast becoming one of my favorites. I loved him in RocknRolla, Sherlock Holmes, and Green Lantern!

Without giving more details away, I must say this is a fantastic movie filled with adventure, drama, action, flying ships, laughter, and yes, romance…but not in the conventional way.  You must go see this movie in all of its 3D glory or forever regret it! It’s that good!

John Carter is scheduled to be released in theatres nationwide on Friday, March 9th. Check your local listings for dates/times.

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Photos ©2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.