Saturday, March 17, 2012

John Carter, Are You Coming Back?

Overall a very entertaining ride. I was not disappointed.

I was moved to see this movie from the television advertisements endlessly run through the week. The scenery seemed creative and other-worldly which started a sci-fi itch that I sometimes get.

I had gotten to the theater that opening night but arrived only fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled time. I figured that the long lines had already gone in and  I'd have to find whatever seat that I could (I love the center middle area). When I walked in, I found that the theater was only half filled and by the time that the feature began, there were not that many more that arrived. I suddenly felt that a lot of people might have known something that I did not. Fortunately, the $11.00 that I had spent was not wasted.

John Carter is the story of an earth-man (Taylor Kitsch) from the old West who finds himself transported to the planet Mars. He becomes embroiled in the civil disputes of the local inhabitants and because of his new-found abilities (which seem like super-powers) and his need to help others, John moves from being a lost soul to a man with a purpose.

The plot development seemed strange at first but soon impressed me as being imaginatively written. What I really liked was the writer's ability to draw parallels from the surroundings as John jumped back and forth from the old West and to Mars. The rawness between the two locations was similar enough that it worked to helped one to believe in the film's theme. On the down side, even though a great deal of time was spent detailing the conflict between hostile tribes and warriors grabbing for power, the filmmaker could still not make me believe that what I was seeing was little more than a small band of testosterone-driven maniacs trying to gain a few more acres of land.

The romance, which of course became John's focal point of motivation (I doubt this spoils it for anyone) was well done but the sucker-for-a-good- love-story that I am, needed a lot more depth. I felt I was looking at a teenager who had found love for the first instead of a mature man who had learned a bit of wisdom. Regardless, there was a chemistry between Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) and John which made me hope that their relationship would endure their interplanetary differences.

The alien tribes were only believable and entertaining to a point. I will not bring up the trauma that I felt when I witnessed how Jar Jar Binks tried to bring down Stars Wars I. Fortunately, these creatures were not that bad.




In terms of movie facts, Taylor Kitsch did most of his own stunt work. The safety harnesses used to simulate his 80 mile per hour and 80 foot superhuman jumps were far from comfortable. Hitsch stated that he had the groin scars to prove it.
 
John Carter is a 2 hr and 10 min. feature whose story could have been told in about an hour and a half.Overall, this movie is worth seeing. With any really good movie, I yearn for a sequel and/or more detail but by the ending of John Carter, I felt that I had happily seen enough. I give a rating of 8/10.


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