John Carter

Long before the projected numbers came out on John Carter, it was pretty clear that the advertising was off base. They only seemed to show the coliseum scene in the previews, which looked quite similar to the one in Star Wars: Episode II. But actually, the film brings a level of mystery with its vast alien war while developing a huge amount of interesting characters. Taylor Kitsch plays the title character, a Confederate Civil War vet, who is transported to Mars. Once there he is pitted in the middle of a fight between nations and is taken in by four-armed natives.

The look of the non-human characters is just cheesy enough to give the film sci-fi credibility. Plus the fact that the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ book is the basis for so many modern works of sci-fi, a level of respect must be given to the moments that appear recycled. After all, this story came first. John Carter employs very well done CGI to produce a good percentage of the film and is very believable throughout. This is definitely one aspect of the film where the hefty price tag is worth it.

Kitsch carries the film well and none of the many other characters ever outperform him. I wish he would steer clear of Christian Bale syndrome though. By that I mean the unnaturally raspy voice Bale uses in the Batman films. Kitsch phases it in at the moments where he is attempting to act particularly tough. The rest of the cast give above average performances. Mark Strong is probably a step ahead of that. But overall there are fewer weaknesses than expected from such a big budget blockbuster. While long, there are enough themes and story-lines to thoroughly split the audience’s attention. It’s a shame shoddy advertising will end up costing John Carter a worthy box office push.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.