Review of John Carter (2012) by Secp — 09 Mar 2012

"Trust me" said Andrew Stanton a self-proclaimed fan of the books. I wouldn't trust him if he told me the sun would rise tomorrow after seeing the way he pulled the book apart. Maybe he read the same book as Rogosh, but it definitely wasn't A Princess of Mars. I was introduced to the books over 30 years ago, aged 10 and have read and re-read them many times since, most recently the last few weeks I re-read the 1st 3 books.

Others have given a synopsis, the trouble is there are so many changes to the book that this is not much more than a reworking. From minor details such as Carter not staying with Burroughs when he 'died', to pretty major changes in plot and timeline.

Stanton has introduced characters that we don't meet until the 2nd book and changed character status around with no apparent purpose. Then there are pretty major characters that are missing.

I can understand missing parts from books as they may not work in a film or there isn't enough time, but to rework a book to such an extent and never once mention that it is a reworking is basically lying to the legions of fans out there. I will not be watching any further films in the series unless Stanton is thrown out.

As for the characters, John Carter did not give me the impression of a man of honour who would fight for what he thought was right, more a depressive that wasn't really interested in anyone but his own self pity. Dejah Thoris waxed briefly, then waned. She had a strong opening and displayed some of the royal pride and standing I would expect, only to wither into a flaky weak woman.

As a fan of ERB's books, I am thoroughly disappointed with this film.

As a sci-fi romp I would only give it a middle score as it is ok based on that, but there are no really strong characters nor a solid story line. Even the effects are just ok. Ignoring the books for a moment, nothing about this film stands out as original or innovative.