John Carter: Mini Movie Review

I walked into the movie theater with trepidation, haunted by all the naysayers and negative (early) reviews. Now all I can say is: I want to see this movie AGAIN.

John Carter is the film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' story, Princess of Mars. The film took some creative license, giving Carter a more in depth back story, making Dejah Thoris (the princess of Mars) a scientist, and updating the story with a singular bad guy and transportation device. All these things were not in the original story, but I think the adaptations were probably necessary for today's audience.

If I can give any bad marks to John Carter, it's that the first 15 minutes rambled too much. It tried too hard to get everyone up to speed on the players. It also lingered too long on Carter's back story. I was getting a little nervous sitting through the beginning, hoping the movie would straighten out soon. It did.

Once John Carter was transported to Barsoom (Mars) he is your typical disoriented stranger who discovers he can jump great distances and has enormous strength. The Tharks (green-skinned, 4-armed Barsoomians) find him first. 

Getting a glimpse into the Tharks' austere culture flooded me with great emotion and fond memories of when I first read the Barsoom books. The people John Carter meets and the relationships he forms is what I loved most about the stories. The Tharks are brutal and violent people, but they're also very brave and honorable. 

In the meantime we are introduced to the Red people and the Blue people of Barsoom and learn that the Thurns (an entity created as the sole bad guy) are manipulating the population so that they can feed off the planet. In the original books when Carter encounters the four races of Barsoom, it's he who unites them to end the fighting. The movie takes a short cut by creating the Thurns.

John Carter should be a steampunk lover's dream. It's the world as seen through the eyes of a real 19th century writer, complete with all the "modern" embellishments of that era. Dog lovers will love the calot, the Barsoomian 'dog', He steals every scene he's in. The love story is a little lukewarm compared to the lustier version I remembered from the original story, but I didn't mind. It was like coming home to the science fiction I loved.

That's all I'll tell you about the story. Be patient for the first 15 minutes, then you'll be rewarded by one of the granddaddies of science fiction story telling.

By the way, if you stay to the credits, you'll see a very touching tribute to Steve Jobs.

I don't buy many videos anymore, but I'm buying this one the moment it's out.

Previews: While at the movies, I caught the trailers for the new movies coming out. I was surprised at "Hunger Games". It reminded me a little bit of "The Running Man" (but with better actors) with its gaudy tv reality show backdrop. Another movie, "Lockout" seems to be an updated remake of "Escape from New York".

"Battleship" looks good though with Liam Neeson (in a secondary role). And "Mirror, Mirror" with Julia Roberts looks like fun. "The Avengers"? Meh. We'll wait and see.

What are you anxious to see?