Disney remade Avatar.
Want me to keep going? Fine…
In John Carter, a wild cowboy (Carter) is suddenly jolted to Mars. On the "Red Planet," Carter is joined up (most unwillingly) with a race of 12-foot high creatures that are (directly comparable to a Navi with 4 arms?) part of a wild civilization stuck in the middle of a war between the human(ish) race inhabiting the planet. Sounds like Avatar right? It's really not.
John Carter takes the fun energy of Avatar and slams it head on with a story of serious loss. What Avatar lacked was a lot of deeper meaning and emotion from it's characters. Sure Sam Worthington lost his legs and his brother, but this quick montage never felt like it motivated him beyond the first few scenes. John Carter's motivations are clear but run deep and are continuous throughout the film. Beyond that this film creates a fantastic world that is easy to be engrossed in. Many science fiction stories of the present forget to create a world that you can be transported to but John Carter does it and does it well. The most truly important part of any science fiction epic is to have a story that stands the test of time and holds up to the original source material. John Carter's story is one of it's best elements as it deeply roots you in John Carter's shoes wanted nothing more than for him to succeed.
It's hard to slight this film beyond a few minor flaws but these flaws keep this film from being great. From John Carter's Val Kilmer impression the whole movie (Which at times sounds like a Christian Bale Batman) to the over-the-top nature of the film at certain parts, John Carter lacks focus. At times it feels real, rough, and raw and that is what makes this film great. But there are aspects of this film that are so off-the-wall it can take the audience out of the film, make you turn to the person next to you and say "what the fuck is going on!"
It's great but not super great. Instead you get this good film, that you are glad you saw, but yet doesn't leave going "That's the greatest thing I've seen EVER!"
7.5 alien dogs out of 10
Filed under Film, Movie Reviews, Recent Articles · Tagged with audience, Avatar, batman, brother, christian bale, christian bale batman, civilization, creatures, deeper meaning, disney, emotion, film story, john carter, legs, minor flaws, motivations, red planet, ridiculousness, sam worthington, val kilmer
