Review of John Carter (2012) by Halfwelshman — 02 Sep 2012

Disney's John Carter seemly doesn't have many original ideas, but what you've got to remember is that the source material the film is based on pre-dates all the movies this film appears to be referencing - it's a bit of a paradox really.

You feel like you've seen it all before, but everything is executed extremely well. Visually, John Carter is superb, with some of the best sci-fi action since the Star Wars prequels. Taylor Kitsch's star is on the rise, but perhaps he isn't the best actor to lead a film, as excepting one notable scene that makes very effective use of juxtaposition, he is rarely able to demonstrate much emotional depth to the titular Carter, but he can certainly handle the physical demands of the role.

Lynn Collins manages to emotionally ground the whole film and Mark Strong makes another effectively creepy villain. Unfortunately the usually brilliant Ciaran Hinds and James Purefoy play pretty much exactly the same characters they did in HBO's Rome, and Dominic West's performance is pedestrian at best.

The film makes use of some hugely convenient plot devices to avoid slowing the story, the script is so-so, and many of the key characters' motivations remain annoyingly unclear throughout. I'm also yet to decide whether the framing device for the main story on Mars works or not - is it clever and unusual, or just tonally misjudged? You end John Carter with a feeling that you've only just scratched the surface of this rich world, and I sincerely hope that the film makes enough money to justify a second installment, as a great sequel has been set up, a sequel which wouldn't require anywhere near as much clunky exposition, and in which we might be allowed to finally learn what on Earth (or Mars) Mark Strong's villain is trying to achieve.