John Carter

Director: Andrew Stanton
Writers: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, & Michael Chabon
Actors: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Thomas Haden Church, Willem Dafoe, & Mark Strong
[This movie had lots of familiar faces even if you are terrible for names]

Rated PG-13 {definitely a movie for teens and up}

Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel "A Princess of Mars", John Carter of Mars showed that deviation from an original source can work if the source is used as an inspiration rather than a fanboy-pleasing crutch. I am, of course, comparing this to a similar Disney experiment, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2010), which struggled greatly with complications from its video game series to film conversion. 

WHAT I LIKED

It was very obvious that this movie's budget exceeded 200 million. Contrasting movies like Green Lantern (2011) and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2010), which squandered their high budgets with cheesy and even painful CGI, John Carter put those funds to good use with beautiful landscapes and non-distracting CGI.

I was also impressed with the acting in this movie, as others like it have suffered from the unnatural and awkward flirting bug, which I hear some of the fans of the novel wanted.

I absolutely loved this movie's throwback to the classic space opera feel, placing it in with some giants of film like Flash Gordon (1936) and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Besides their vast scope, there is something about these films that is just charming. Needless to say, I left the theater wanting a follow up story.


WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

My only real complaint about this movie is how poorly it was marketed. It was not until the day of its release that I saw a good trailer (embed below) and became interested in seeing it. All other marketing and trailers were painful at best.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This movie definitely surprised me with both its creativity and quality. This movie is easily deserving of a B rating.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

I would definitely recommend as a rental. If you enjoy movies like this then you should consider seeing it in theaters.


SCORE

Personal Rating: 8 of 10 (B)

Plot: 8 of 10 (obviously had book roots)

How does this TS review compare to major reviews?
IMDB 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes C-51%/A-69%

CONTENT

Violence: 7 of 10 (it is fairly violent: with constant gun and sword battles, executions, a torture scene, a beheading, a saddening flashback, and skeletons to match)

Language/Profanity: 5 of 10 (there was some: with "hell", "damn", and "goddamn" sprinkled covertly into it)

Sexuality/Sensuality: 5 of 10 (healthy sexuality is show: characters exchange longing looks but do not have sex until they are married, his wife is shown covered in sheets afterward)

Spiritual Aspects: 5 of 10 (this a big issue in the film: as the angel-like bad guys claim they run the show under the guise of a deity, that their powers are technology that isn't for sharing, and that they will do whatever it takes to stay on top)

Drugs/Alcohol: 4 of 10 (John walks into a bar for a drink early in the film, and is shown drinking a few times)