Well, that day has at last arrived! John Carter is finally on the big screen, and I have to say, I loved it!
From when we first see Barsoom and the aerial battle of the Zodangan and Heliumite airships, it really reminded me of the old swashbuckling movies and overall, director Andrew Stanton seems to have recaptured that old pulp action adventure spirit.
Yes, I wasn't expecting a true book-to-film adaptation, things were missing or changed from the book, but then again, it's always to be expected. Not everything will translate well from the page and your imagination to screen, not forgetting that the original source material in 100 years old too.
I thought the leads played their parts pretty well, impressed with Lynn Collins' Dejah Thoris (I think I'm in love!) and James Purefoy's Kantos Kan, even if his role was pretty brief! I also liked the way the movie was bookended with the Edgar Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) scenes and the quip at the end saying that "John Carter Of Mars sounds better". Indeed it does!
I really do hope it does well and we get to see the next film. Forget the terrible promotion, it's much better than it looks, and if you like a good old fun swashbuckling pulp action adventure, like the Sinbad films of old (or even Raiders Of The Lost Ark perhaps), you should give this a watch! Recommended!
I'm a lifelong fan of the Barsoom books who waited anxiously over the years in which this movie was in development hell. Last night, when the movie finally opened, I saw John Carter in IMAX 3D with a friend who doesn't generally like SF. We both enjoyed it a lot, especially as a visual experience. The Disney team did a wonderful job of capturing the feel of the old Frank Schoonover illustrations, adding touches of "Aelita, Queen of Mars" (Russian film from the 1920s) for the gadgetry. Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins were surprisingly good in the main roles. My biggest complaints are the addition of the jazzed-up version of Matai Shang, the invention of the silly ray gun (which has no place in the books), the unnecessarily non-chronological presentation of events on Mars, and the jettisoning of key elements from the original novel -- Dejah Thoris' appeal for peace in Thark, John Carter's career as an airman for Zodanga, and the whole Atmosphere Factory subplot. Still, I recommend the movie for everybody who loves swashbuckling on Mars!
ReplyDeleteOnly a relatively recent convert to the way of ERB myself! I guess they took the blue light ray gun thing from 'A Fighting Man Of Mars'. The metal disinitegration ray from that book, adds something extra to the film. Combining several things from the series to make the story flow or at least work better. No complaints about the finished film though, as I loved the movie. I really really hope that they get the green light for The Gods Of Mars.
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