Review of John Carter (2012) by Stuart M — 06 Jan 2015

This movie is designed for a specific type of audience: people who like pulpy action-adventure with a detailed world and a thrill every few minutes. If you're the kind of person to whom sword-fighting on an airship hurtling over the Martian desert appeals, then like as not you will love this film. If that sounds bizarre and silly to you then skip it.

The entire film is adapted from the famed and influential turn of the century (no, the other century) Scifi novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. And one of the best elements of the film is how true it stays to those roots without ever feeling utterly dated. The ridiculous and needlessly elaborate sets and costumes feel like what a Victorian fan would have made given enough money. The character archetypes come from that time as well. The noble savage Tars Tarkas, the oriental despot Sab Than, the exotic princess Deja Thorin, and a whole bunch of others. The only character who doesn't fit is John Carter, who is partly generic misanthropic action hero, part underdeveloped tragic backstory.

Despite this reliance on Victorian influences the film doesn't really feel old. Stylistically it's all modern. The pacing, the effects, the action⦠all very much what you'd expect from a summer blockbuster. And the more grating elements of the original have been removed or toned down. No more universal nudity, no cunning and guilt-free manipulation of primitives, none of the racism inherent in the worldview⦠Most of that will not be missed.

It's not a perfect film by any means, but the main reason this film failed wasn't what appears onscreen but to marketing. This film is John Carter of Mars. It's quirky and different enough to draw people in. Removing the "of Mars" makes it sound like a generic drama. That combined with some rather hesitant marketing and it's easy to see why this is one of the biggest bombs of all time. That and the expenses incurred by the director's inexperience with live action meant critics and informed audiences went in seeing blood in the water.