John Carter’s road to becoming a feature film has been long and arduous, but fans of the novels and comics will rejoice as the film finally hits the big screen. I wasn’t familiar with the source material, and didn’t know what to expect walking into the theatre — which often makes for a better movie-going experience. Did Carter live up to the hype? In many ways it did, but the film had its share of rough patches.
Friday Night Light’s Taylor Kitsch plays the titular John Carter, a man of Earth and would-be hero of Mars. I was a big fan of Carter the character, even if I wasn’t always as much of a fan of Kitsch’s portrayal of him, but more on that later. Lynn Collins (True Blood) plays Dejah, princess of Mars, scientist hotshot and warrior badass. The rest of the cast is rounded out by some outstanding actors doing voice work for CGI’ed characters (Thomas Hayden Church, Samantha Morton, Willem Dafoe) and their live action counterparts (Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Bryan Cranston). The cast as a whole is incredible — in fact I was blown away watching the credits to see so many actors who I didn’t recognize in their voice roles, including an all time favorite of mine, Polly Walker.
If you don’t know the story going into the film, though, you’re going to in a bit of trouble. Not because the movie speeds past explaining the mythology, in fact the problem is quite the opposite. The first two-thirds of the film is completely bogged down with teaching the viewer about the vast world that author Edgar Rice Burroughs created over 100 years ago. Frankly, the film suffers for it, as the characters travel back and forth over God’s gree … erm … red Mars. I’m normally one who likes thinking about the geography of a story, but I had to give up trying half way through the film (thankfully, as my brain would have probably exploded in the final act).
The film was quite beautiful, though. Barsoom, as the natives call Mars, manages to be considerably less bleak than you’d expect a big red desert to be. The 3D was a mixed bag, however. In some areas, the effect was seamless, but in others it was distracting. My take on 3D has always been rather simple: if it adds to the film and doesn’t take the viewer out of the moment, then more power to it. However, when it detracts from the viewing experience in any way, I think the 3D glasses are best left at the door. I’ve certainly seen worse 3D productions in recent years, but I would have much rather seen the movie in two dimensions.
Despite my troubles with the movie, though, I did enjoy it. I was especially drawn to John Carter himself. I completely connected with his backstory, a man who survived the Civil War but found the life he remembered lost when he returned home. This is the story of Carter finding the man he’d lost in the war, a story that could come across as clichéd but doesn’t (unlike the love story, which isn’t nearly as dynamic).
There were a couple of trivia tidbits that caught my eye. I was interested that they made Carter’s nephew, the “author” of the story Edgar “Ned” Burroughs, a student at my alma mater William and Mary (trust me, it was there in a glance-and-you-miss-it moment — you tend to notice these things when its your school) when the real author wasn’t actually a student there. Also, as a big fan of HBO’s Rome, I loved seeing (and hearing) so many of that cast on screen together again. Along with the aforementioned Walker, Hinds and Purefoy (who were cast as leader and lieutenant once again), I also saw Nicholas Woodeson as Carter’s lawyer back on Earth, who played Cesar’s body slave Posca.
It isn’t so often that I’m this mixed about a movie, and recommendation. The film certainly has its flaws, but they’re not necessarily overwhelming. I can easily say that those who aren’t into big, mythic science fiction stories, you’re going to want to pass. If you like gazing soulfully into Taylor Kitsch’s eyes or a good yarn that stretches the bounds of science, as we know it, then you’re likely to enjoy John Carter.
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Mar 09, 2012 @ 00:00 EST5EDT
