Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Taylor Kitsih, Lynn Collins, William Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Dominic West, Mark Strong
Rating: B
The latest Disney big budget sci-fi thriller (reportedly coming in at around 250 million dollars), “John Carter”, is not a bad kickoff to the superhero blockbuster films for the upcoming spring and summer movie season. The 3D effects in are pretty awesome and will be captured beautifully on an IMAX screen. The film is loaded with plenty of combat scenes, high-tech medieval looking spaceships, elaborate cities, sword fights, large white apes with sharp pointy teeth, and a serene red backdrop that makes for a desirable looking vacation spot.
To summarize the story we start off with John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), a civil war army vet on a quest for gold. He gets captured by the army, chased by Apache Indians, and runs into a shape shifting alien of the same species as one named Matai Shang (Mark Strong). He manages to grab this alien’s medallion and while doing so somehow gets magically transported to Mars. Carter discovers that on Mars he has the ability to leap through the air. While trying to figure out where the heck he is, John Carter is captured by a Thark called Tal Hajus (William Dafoe). A Thark is a 12 foot tall, green, four-armed Martian. Back at the Thark village, Carter learns of a war on the red planet between the cities of Helium and Zodanga. Helium is ruled by Tardos Mors (Cirrian Hinds) and Zodanga is ruled by Sab Than (Dominic West). In an effort to bring peace, Tardos Mors promises his daughter, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), to Sab Than. Dejah, a princess and scientist in search of the ninth ray (I still have no idea what that is), runs away to avoid the fate of marriage and crosses paths with John Carter, who could care less what is happening on the red planet and just wants to get home. It also turns out that Sab Than is being used as a pawn by none other than Matia Shang, who gains power by creating conflict.
So is anyone out there confused yet by the complicated and rather disconnected story line? You have nothing to worry about. Believe it or not, by the end of the film you will actually be able to make sense of it all.
John Carter is a mish mash of a lot of other movies. You will see strong hints of “Pirates of the Caribbean” in battleship sequences. We have an unwilling Princess trying to escape being married off to an unscrupulous villain. Hmm – sounds a little like “Princess Bride”. Then there is a large scary beast that easily could be taken straight out of “Clash of the Titans”. There are lots off reminders of films like “Superman”, “Attack of the Clones”, and even the original “Star Wars.” Movie buffs will have no problem picking out all the similarities.
The filmmakers have cast Taylor Kitsch, a relatively unknown actor, in the lead role. Kitsch has the big brown eyes, six pack abs, and long silky hair to go with the image of his character. He is able to pull off the role of John Carter by adding just the right amount suave and bravado to make him a believable hero. There is definitely room for Kitsch to capitalize on this opportunity should it (and I am predicting it will) become a franchise. Lynn Collins (some of you may remember her as the love interest in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) is quite stunning as the princess/scientist. She brings forth an intelligent strong heroine and has the perfect amount of chemistry with her co-star. Ciaran Hinds does not get a chance to do much but still comes out strong as a conflicted ruler trying to do what is best for his people. The two villains in the film, Mark Strong and Dominic West, are just the right blend of a slimy duo, each with their own interests. William Dafoe does a great job of bringing life to the CGI animated character of Tars Hajus, making him one of the more memorable characters of the movie.
A glaring weakness in this latest Disney project is the amount of information crammed in and loosely strung together in a nearly incoherent story line. It would have been nice if the script for “John Carter” had been written so that there was not complete confusion for two-thirds of the movie. This movie feels a lot like a prelude and could have been set a part as something new and different had just a little more thought been put into some of the plot twists. The movie is loaded with copycat scenes from other films which for some will be very disappointing. Thankfully, there is enough humor, action, romance, and visual effects thrown in to keep moviegoers interested in this fantasy outing.
Despite being a far from perfect film, “John Carter” is still a good time at the movies. So get that bucket of popcorn, sit back, and leave common sense and high expectations at the door while enjoying this mindless flick.
