JOHN CARTER (12)
D: Andrew Stanton
Disney (Jim Morris, Colin Wilson & Lindsey
Collins)
US 2012
132 mins
Science Fiction/Adventure
W: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews & Michael Chabon [based on
the novel "A Princess Of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs]
DP: Dan Mindel
Ed: Eric Zumbrunnen
Mus: Michael Giacchino
Taylor Kitsch (John Carter), Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris),
Samantha Morton (Sola), Mark Strong (Matai Shang), Ciaran Hinds (Thardos Mors), Dominic West (Sab Than), Willem Dafoe (Tars Tarkas)
This movie may have proved an embarrassing flop at the box
office for its Disney studio, but for entertainment value, it really wasn't too bad.
Comparisons will possibly be made to Flash Gordon, albeit not
quite as camp or cheesy, but it's a huge surprise that this is based on a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan.
Civil war vet John Carter finds himself on an alien planet,
where six-foot tall barbarians hold him prisoner. He escapes, but unites with the alien species to rescue a princess held captive by their enemies.
The trailers for this film didn't do it any justice, nor did
the scathing reviews, but it really wasn't as awful as it was made out to be.
The ending seems to set it up for a sequel, whether or not
that happens is a different matter (Disney, with frugal investment interests in mind, certainly won't produce it).
5/10