If I'd listened to the critics I'd have given this film a miss. Thankfully, I don't really care much for what most of these hacks have to say -- particularly a certain tabloid critic who tried, and failed miserably, to crack jokes at the expense of Burroughs and succeeded only in revealing his total ignorance of the genre. Even worse were the people who accused it of plagiarism, despite the first John Carter story being written over 70 years before Star Wars.
Taylor Kitsch did a pretty good job as John Carter - a character I never really visualised clearly from the books (probably because the first person narrative made that unnecessary). James Purefroy makes an excellent Kantos Kan -- it's only a shame he doesn't feature more in this story.
The visuals were on a par with anything else I've seen recently, and the scope was as epic as the original Planet of the Apes.
There were a few points (usually during action scenes) where the editing left me a bit confused as to who was doing what to who, but generally the plot unfolded coherently and there was a nice balance between action and dialogue.
The most memorable scene for me involved Carter amongst a mountain of dead foes, reminiscent of the old Marvel comic book version, and a classic pulp image.
The only thing that jarred was the 3D, which was more of a distraction than an enhancement.
This is certainly a film I'll be watching again as I think it will bear more fruit upon each viewing.
Good review. Kitsch could have definitely been a little bit more charismatic but the flick still works due to amazing special effects and some really fun and exciting action. Sad thing is that this flick was made for $250 million and won’t make any of it back. Not a must-see by any means but still a good one to check out for the fun of it.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Dan. If it hadn't been for the hype I'd have been pleasantly surprised. Tars Tarkus and his kin were great. At least they didn't do what the writers of A Princess of Mars did and update John Carter to an Afghanistan veteran, as well as coming up with some impassible data transference idea for getting him to Mars (which wasn't the Mars in our solar system!)
ReplyDeleteThe real shame is there won't be a follow up. There were some great books in the series -- Swords of Mars springs to mind, in which Carter takes on the assassins of Barsoom.
I saw this film the other day and enjoyed it a great deal. Excellent review. =)
ReplyDeleteI've seen it twice in the theater, own the soundtrack and have the DVD on pre-order. So yes, I loved it. They have made up the cost of the movie now between US and international ticket sales. If DVD sales are strong they could still recoup most of the promo costs. Not quite the financial flop everyone was talking on opening weekend. It seems like everyone who sees it loves it. Disney botched the marketing, and sat on it for too long (it finished filming summer 2010!!) and then released it the same weekend as The Lorax. I can't imagine what they were thinking.
ReplyDeleteI felt exactly the same about the 3d, and so did the boy. It was worst of all in the closeups because they cut of the tops of the actor's heads, which in 3D is rather creepy.
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