Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Dominic West, Lynn Collins
Director: Andrew Stanton
Ratings: 2/5
Superb effects make up for the haywire concept...
By Priyanka Ketkar
"So you are John Carter of Earth?" I heard this in the trailers and for a second I thought that he is some mythological character or some character from a classic novel; alas, Andrew Stanton's John Carter is nothing like that. He is just a normal human being who is transported to a different planet due to some medallion and a blue ray which is the ninth ray or something like that. He is basically just someone whose actions are done superbly through VFX but whose story is absolutely unconvincing.
Based on the fictional charachter by Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter tries to revive a lost story.
John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is a civil war veteran who has now turned into a thug (I think). He is in search of some gold cave when he stumbles upon something strange, shining and blue. Like an idiot he repeats some mantra after a dying monk-like man and ends up travelling through time to some strange land (or that is what you think initially). Gradually, he discovers the secrets of this place, the biggest one being that this place is not Earth (Jassoom), but Mars (Barsoom). He comes as a man without any mission (except to return to where he came from) but leaves the planet- unwilling to leave, with a wife on Mars and a victory to his name. All this he narrates to his nephew from his grave i.e. via his personal diary.
The movie will remind you of many other movies. For e.g.: The opening sequence where he wakes up in a desert reminded me of the movie Cowboys & Aliens, then the entire time travel-like concept is so common, then of course a human coming to some other strange land, befriending the inhabitants and saving them reminded me of Planet of Apes. But so long as it works for the movie good for them.
With its excellent special effects and brilliantly choreographed action sequences, there isn't a single moment where you get bored (of course you aren't in a very satisfied mood either). Though the supporting effects are excellent, the story itself isn't good. Nothing is much clear about who is who and why has Matai Shang (Mark Strong) given some maniac called Sab Than (Dominic West) ultimate power of destruction. Although at one point you think you begin to understand the whole theory of how "Evil is not brought upon anyone, it is within everyone, especially within the power hungry, mindless maniacs" but the thought is left hanging mid-air without further exploitation.
Acting-wise the movie is just about okay. Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris looks gorgeous but Taylor Kitsch isn't that impressive. The 3D effects are really good.
Overall, John Carter is a quite forgettable movie but for the fans of special effects and VFX, watch this one. Only if it was coupled with a strong screenplay, the movie actually had the potential of becoming something big.