After watching the trailer for the new movie “John Carter,” the first thing I thought was that this was going to be just another cliched action movie with a shallow plot line and one dimensional-characters. But after watching the movie itself, I knew one thing for certain: the people in the advertising business had better step up their game — the trailer did the movie no justice.
The trailer gave cause to believe that the movie would be cheesy and dry. If I had to discern the plot for the movie based solely on the trailer, it would be something about Carter’s insane jumping ability because of the gravity difference on other planets and how he made new alien friends. However, as the movie began, I was impressed. The movie first introduces our protagonist, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), as he attempts to evade a stranger who is following him. Carter sends a telegram to his nephew, Edgar Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara), telling him to meet him soon at Carter’s estate. When Burroughs arrives, the butler informs him that Carter has unexpectedly passed away and hands him his uncle’s diary. As he gets deeper and deeper into the content of the diary, he begins to uncover the truth about who his uncle was.
The diary depicts a tale of an ex-confederate soldier who is transported to the red planet, known to its natives as Barsoom. There, he befriends the Tharks — long-legged, four-armed, grasshopper-looking creatures. The Tharks tell Carter that the planet is in civil war between two cities, Zodanga and Helium. He also meets Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), the princess of Helium. She commissions John Carter to help fight against Zodanga and save her people. Carter has to make the decision if he wants to fight or find his own way back to earth.
“John Carter” is based on the Barsoom series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs — can you see the similarity between the nephew’s and his names? — specifically the first book of the series,A Princess of Mars
Disney could not have made a better decision to cast Taylor Kitsch as John Carter. He has the look of a warrior, remaining mostly bare-chested and rugged throughout the movie. His acting has room to grow as his moments of sadness lack depth and emotion, but overall he plays the part of a strong warrior ready for battle. And every warrior needs a warrior princess; Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris, is just that. In moments it seems that she is stronger and wiser than Carter himself, but that comes with the advantage of knowing the battlefield for all her life, however, at times Collins’ acting comes off as whiny as she begs Kitschs’ character to stay and fight for Helium. In retrospect, she is strong enough to stand on her own, and is definitely one “Disney princess” that does not need saving.
“John Carter” is an aesthetically pleasing movie with rich colors, vivid processing, and creative scenes. The animation for the film was aided by Pixar, giving it that smooth Disney appeal. The creation of the hot, red planet of Barsoom, also known to us earthlings as Mars, makes you feel transported there yourself and exhausted as the hero himself as he is battling it out. Director Andrew Stanton transforms Barsoom into a world only our imagination is capable of achieving. However, the movie does not come together until you add in the original score by the Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino. With intense action, a classic Disney storyline and captivating music, there is something for everyone to love in this adventurous tale.
John Carter was a wonderfully constructed movie with the animation and soundtrack. Though the movie ran dry at some moments due to its lengthy run time of a bit over two hours, I definitely left the theater thinking “Home Sweet Barsoom.”
