Review of John Carter (2012) by Nicola W — 06 Nov 2016

Unfortunately, not the film we were all waiting for. My expectations were not very high but I still wanted to see a good movie. I did not get to see a good movie today, but not a bad one either.

Definitely the strongest elements of the film were the fantastic special effects. Almost everything, from the Tharks to the weird and vicious ape-like creatures, looked great. But all the work they put into the design of the film and getting half of the cast of Rome did not help them, because in the end, it was not enough for us to have a good movie.

I really liked James Purefoy and Ciaran Hinds. Especially Purefoy, who I think had a lot of fun with this film. At the opposite pole we have Lynn Collins, who played the role of Dejah Thoris. I didn't really like her and she did not express any emotion whatsoever. Taylor Kitsch didn't give a breakthrough performance but he was not bad at all in the film. He really tried to give it his best.

One of the main problems of the film was the script. I have not read the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs but it seemed to me that there were a couple of plot holes. And above all that, the screenplay was straight out flat at some points. I got the impression that lines were thrown in just to cover a gap.

I don't want to give anybody the impression that this is a bad film, because it's not. If you're in the mood of seeing a science-fiction action movie, give this one a try, you might actually like. I just hope you'll like it more than I did.