Famed author Edgar Rice Burroughs is best known for his creation of Tarzan, an iconic figure who has inspired an estimated 89 movies. However, his other famous work, John Carter of Mars, set the stage in the world of science fiction for the development of such renowned futuristic fantasies as Star Wars, Avatar, and Superman. Finally brought to the big screen, John Carter delivers thunderous action in the midst of an overwhelming amount of mythology.
Director Andrew Stanton joins Brad Bird (Mission Impossible 4) as the second legendary Pixar director to make the jump from animation to live-action. With such a visual-centered background, Stanton is certainly to credit for the wondrous sights in John Carter. From sweeping shots of the Martian desert to a walking city to clashing armies, John Carter is a visual delight, dazzling audiences with the realistic aliens and stunning locations. The film just looks good.
John Carter also boasts a subtle yet endearing sense of humor. We see this right from the start as the titular protagonist John Carter tries and fails repeatedly to escape the clutches of a character played by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). The humor continues throughout the film in some subtle (“You are ugly, but you are beautiful”) ways and in some unsubtle (alien dog) ways. The humor gives the film a quirky quality that draws us in.
John Carter also boasts a subtle yet endearing sense of humor. We see this right from the start as the titular protagonist John Carter tries and fails repeatedly to escape the clutches of a character played by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). The humor continues throughout the film in some subtle (“You are ugly, but you are beautiful”) ways and in some unsubtle (alien dog) ways. The humor gives the film a quirky quality that draws us in.
The effectiveness of the visuals, the action, and the humor is particularly important since neither the plot nor the characters engage the audience in any real way. First and foremost, the film has a pacing problem, shifting from scenes stuffed with plot to periods of utter irrelevancy. The lack of steady momentum makes the movie feel rather long and dry. Furthermore, the scenes that are important are jam-packed with so much mythology that at times the vastness of the plot is difficult to grasp. Let me try to break it down for you.
John Carter starts with an introduction to Edgar Rice Burroughs as a character, played by Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids). He travels to the house of his uncle, John Carter, only to discover that his uncle has died, leaving him all his possessions, including his diary which Edgar begins to read. We are then introduced to John Carter, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) a number of years earlier as Civil War veteran looking for gold. A chance encounter sends him to Mars where his super strength, the result of having Earthly muscles on low-gravity Mars, attracts the attention of the native aliens, who first attempt to adopt him, then imprison him, then accept him into their culture, then imprison him again. And that’s only the first 20 minutes! (Eventually John Carter is reaccepted into their culture for a third time.)
Meanwhile, in addition to the aliens, there are also two warring nations of humans from the cities of Zodanga and Helium who throughout the film have a constant back-and-forth over who is in control. One sect of humans is aided by a group of shape-shifting immortals known as Therns, servants of the goddess Issus, who have no true discernible motives. All this while dealing with characters named Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, Tal Hajus, Matai Shang, Tardos Mors, Sab Than, Kantos Kan, and so on and so forth. The mythology of the John Carter universe is deep and rich, but too much of it is crammed into this film for it to be truly appreciated. You can follow what’s happening, as long as you don’t think about it too much.
And while many of the actors (and voice actors) performed admirably, the characters they were given were all static and flat. Absolutely zero character development. They characters are doing things, but we don’t really care about what happens to them other than the general sense that the good guys should triumph over the bad ones. Dividing this film into two movies would have allowed the filmmakers to introduce the mythology more clearly and develop the characters more fully. If I may quote the great critic Roger Ebert, Stanton’s previous Pixar films (A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, WALL-E) all had “tight, well-structured plots, and that’s what John Carter could use more of.”
Lastly, why would anyone in this film go around fighting hand to hand with swords? You have guns! And flying ships! And interplanetary teleportation devices! The film doesn’t question the mix of stone-age tools with futuristic technology; but I do.
Overall, John Carter is a fun movie with beautiful visuals, pulse-pounding action, and clever humor. It has a decent start and a very strong finish, but lags dreadfully in the middle. The depth of mythology poured into the film is drowning, depriving audiences of any room to breathe and assess the vastness of what is happening on screen.
The Final Word: Wait to rent it.
John Carter starts with an introduction to Edgar Rice Burroughs as a character, played by Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids). He travels to the house of his uncle, John Carter, only to discover that his uncle has died, leaving him all his possessions, including his diary which Edgar begins to read. We are then introduced to John Carter, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) a number of years earlier as Civil War veteran looking for gold. A chance encounter sends him to Mars where his super strength, the result of having Earthly muscles on low-gravity Mars, attracts the attention of the native aliens, who first attempt to adopt him, then imprison him, then accept him into their culture, then imprison him again. And that’s only the first 20 minutes! (Eventually John Carter is reaccepted into their culture for a third time.)
Meanwhile, in addition to the aliens, there are also two warring nations of humans from the cities of Zodanga and Helium who throughout the film have a constant back-and-forth over who is in control. One sect of humans is aided by a group of shape-shifting immortals known as Therns, servants of the goddess Issus, who have no true discernible motives. All this while dealing with characters named Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, Tal Hajus, Matai Shang, Tardos Mors, Sab Than, Kantos Kan, and so on and so forth. The mythology of the John Carter universe is deep and rich, but too much of it is crammed into this film for it to be truly appreciated. You can follow what’s happening, as long as you don’t think about it too much.
And while many of the actors (and voice actors) performed admirably, the characters they were given were all static and flat. Absolutely zero character development. They characters are doing things, but we don’t really care about what happens to them other than the general sense that the good guys should triumph over the bad ones. Dividing this film into two movies would have allowed the filmmakers to introduce the mythology more clearly and develop the characters more fully. If I may quote the great critic Roger Ebert, Stanton’s previous Pixar films (A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, WALL-E) all had “tight, well-structured plots, and that’s what John Carter could use more of.”
Lastly, why would anyone in this film go around fighting hand to hand with swords? You have guns! And flying ships! And interplanetary teleportation devices! The film doesn’t question the mix of stone-age tools with futuristic technology; but I do.
Overall, John Carter is a fun movie with beautiful visuals, pulse-pounding action, and clever humor. It has a decent start and a very strong finish, but lags dreadfully in the middle. The depth of mythology poured into the film is drowning, depriving audiences of any room to breathe and assess the vastness of what is happening on screen.
The Final Word: Wait to rent it.
Despite occasional moments of silliness, the old-fashioned sense of adventure and brilliantly rendered aliens elevate this above other derivative big-budget sci-fi fare. I still wished that Kitsch did a lot better in this lead role but he was only there for eye-candy really. Good review Ethan. Check out mine when you can.
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