I just saw the 3D version a while ago, I liked it, I can see liberals hating it, I saw where Disney adlibbed some parts for continuation and it worked because the first three books had a very very slow beginning and yes the movie had a slow start.
The green martians were very well done, the character that stole the show was the 400mph Barsoom “dog” Woola.
Deja Thoris fit the role perfectly and John carter well, he was John carter a very human person.
Comparing such other movies such as Star Wars a New Hope and the first Indiana Jones as benchmarks of a 10 I would give this film an 8.9 and if Disney doesn’t make a sequel I’m forever avoiding their theme parks for life.
This is a film and story that screams for no less than a trilogy. Some people will claim some scenes were stolen from a certain Star Wars film but I disagree, this story was written decades before and they stole the ideas, its a very original film, the costumes, the tattoos, the weaponry is totally original, very well done I must say Disney, I hope it makes good money, last I saw it has earned only #0 million, much below the expectations.
And a fraction of the tree hugging Dr. Seuss film The Lorax.
Go see John Carter?
You betcha.
Saw it today. It lived up (or down) to my low expectations.
Not to say it isn’t a good popcorn movie; it is and people should see it if that’s what they are looking for.
Sadly I re-read five of the books recently, so ERB’s descriptions of places, characters and events from the books have been refreshed. These were NOT echoed in the film. Also, unfortunately, I was put off by the overt departures from the source material in terms of plots, descriptions and actions. The plot is partly new and partly an unrecognizable mashup from several different of ERB’s Mars books.
The terrain is all wrong. Barsoom, while arid did indeed have ochre moss in great quantities, and scarlet swards of Martian lawn grass. Productive farms lined the great canals. Saw no one of that. The cities in the movie bear no resemblance to how they are described in the books.
Woola was a good characterization in the movie. Disney captured indeed the faithfullness of Carter’s beloved Calot. But though fast in the books, his ten legs (not six) did not make him leave a trail of dust like the road runner. The Therns were men (and women) of Barsoom who infiltrated the Red Martian cities by wearing makeup and wigs. They were not gimmicky shape shifting super beings. The White Apes, while large and dangerous were not the size of King Kong or even Mighty Joe Young. Etc etc etc. etc etc etc .
Perhaps most disappointing were the fliers. The fliers in the movie were clever and entertaining in their own right: but they were not the magnificent floating patrol boats, cruisers, and dreadnoughts of Edgar Rice Boroughs’ imagination. He saw them as ships of the type that were in battle at the time of the Spanish American War. That’s how they should be portrayed on screen as they sortie and battle in the thnning air of Barsoom.
Disney is in the business of making money, I understand, but ERB had an exciting vision of Barsoom which only modern CGI could render with fidelity. Disney chose not to and instead went for what I suspect is a pretense of an amusement park attraction, toys, etc.
And a word about the warriors of fair Helium….they were men. That’s right: a nation where the men were men, and the women were voluptuous. And nobody wore much in the way clothing (let alone armor – something entirely foreign to ERB’s vision). Female warriors of Helium? Must be the work of “that guy from accounting”.
And finally, what of the “incomparable Dejah Thoris” , “the most beautiful woman on two worlds?”
Woof.
Do the folks at Disney have no concept of beauty, or what kind of young woman would have the blue-blooded bearing of a Princess? Apparently not, for Disney’s idea of Dejah Thoris is nothing more than a tattooed skank.
If there is to be a sequel, please, Disney….. Recast that role!