John Carter

I appear to be the only person who actually wanted to see John Carter. TO me, it looked like an interesting movie with great visuals, but I wasn't able to see it until a month after it's release. It's such a shame that this film made no money.

As of my viewing of John Carter, I have read the introduction and first two chapters of "A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Borroughs, the first novel in the "Barsoon" series of books in which John Carter is based on. Except for the very first scene, I am happy that this film follows this book closer than I thought it would. The one major change in the first few scenes compared to the first two chapters is actaully kind of important, but kept the same idea. After the introduction scene, the first scene on Earth is exactly like the introduction in the book with the author being called to John's residence right before his death. This is where the manuscript of his adventures are discovered. Then the story begins:

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter

Instead of having the title character (played by Taylor Kitsch) end up in the cave after being chased by Indians after they attacked his best friend, the movie changed John into a person who was arrested and escaped jail. He is then chased by Indians after a three way battle between the INdians, the law, and john. It is very different from the book actually. Once John gets to Barsoon, I have no idea how closely the movie follows the book.

The story is actually quite entertaining, even though the beginning scenes on Earth (excluding the scenes with the author) and the introduction scene are a little underwhelming. They aren't bad, just a little cliched. On Mars (Barsoon), there is an alien species that is tall and green, but there are also groups of humans who are at war, as described in the opening scene. Their history gets a tad confusing, but it is never impossible to follow.

Kitsch and Collins

There is a staple strong female lead in Dejah Thoris (played by Lynn Collins). There are also several bad guys whose names I don't know; it got confusing after a while trying to figure who is who.

John gets drawn into this planet's war while becoming aquatinted with its natives.

The visuals in this movie are definitely a standout. They are never less then perfect and almost justify the film's insane budget, almost. The green aliens look amazing, the white apes in the arena battle scene look amazing, the landscape looks amazing, the air battles looks amazing; you get the idea.

John Carter fighting some White Apes

The acting is strong as well. Kitsch is a suitable enough lead, but there probably would have been a couple better choices (maybe Ryan Gosling or Chris Hemsworth?). Collins actually gave a really god performance. She breaks through her characters stereotypes and makes it her own.

Overall, a strong movie that was not perfect, but was definitely a lot of fun with amazing special effects and strong performances.

Rating: A-, 4/5, 8/10