Movie of the Week: John Carter

[jacey]

Well, what can you expect from an Edgar Rice Burroughs character made into a movie by Disney? Yes, that's right, light entertainment with fantasy worldbuilding and excellent CGI aliens and monsters. Nothing to rave about, but nothing to dislike either. Pretty much in the same vein as Flash Gordon (sadly without the Queen soundtrack). Civil War veteran, John Carter is magically transported to Barsoom (that's Mars to you and me) where he discovers that (because of the difference in gravity yada-yada) he's much stronger and can jump so far that he can almost fly. He immediately gets involved with a warlike race of four-armed, tall, green aliens (excellent mo-cap/CGI) and a couple of warring hunanoid factions. Yeah, there's a pretty princess trying to escape a dynastic marriage to a thuggish cardboard villain, some amoral manipulators, a couple of monsters and a comedy dog (well, not quite a dog but it fills the same role) and I wouldn't be giving away much if I said it all turned out well in the end (Hey, It's Disney!)

Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins make a pleasant enough leading pair (both were in X-Men Origins, Wolverine, but it took me a while to place them). James Purefoy has a very small role with only one good scene which he steals from Kitsch with relish. Mark Strong has such a great face for a villain and is extremely sinister as a the amoral, villainous manipulator, stirring up trouble.

Verdict: Froth, but I enjoyed it way more than I expected.

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I find the interesting thing about this movie is that all the 'liked it' reviews I've seen so far come from people familiar with the original. Those who weren't seem to have got confused/bored by the plot.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Other than having heard the title and knowing who the author is, I'm not familiar at all with the original and I didn't find the plot at all confusing, or, indeed, boring. I don't know how much this differs from the source material. Did the original book have Edgar R.B. himself as John Carter's nephew in a bookend story to the main one?

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

No idea. This is taken, mainly, I believe, from A Princess of Mars and I couldn't get more than a couple of pages into that as a teenager!

I haven't seen the movie and have no real opinion myself, but have been interested because of some spectacularly bitchy professional reviews (often from people to rather like SF and popcorn movies) contrasting with my flist and comments from non-pros on Rotten Tomatoes who seem to rather like it.

We even got a rant from Mark Kermode on how boring it was (not a particularly spectacular rant, but he was peeved at the Director for being so lame in defending the title change.

It has done much better in the UK than the US, where it was a spectacular flop.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I haven't read any of the reviews.It's quite likely we would have gone to see it regardless because we go to the cinema every Wednesday (Orange Wednesday Twofers) and always aim for something SF/F if available. Since we've already seen Woman in Black and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (okay, not SF but lovely all the same), and even Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, John Carter was about the only option left. It was either that or The Muppets! Next week is a thin week for SF, so it might even be We Bought a Zoo! Otherwise it's The raven and I'm not sure I fancy that.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the reviews for The Hunger Games are coming in but it doesn't open nationally until the 23rd. It's a thin week.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I will go and see Hunger Games. I enjoyed the books - the first one in particular.