New Andrew Stanton film takes serious tone in uninspired, convoluted storyline
As a complete cinephile and movie reviewer, it’s difficult not to begin this review without referring to “John Carter” as the story of “Avatar” (2009) meets the pulpy action of “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (2010). It’s a story about a man pulled into the conflicts of another world, who ends up reluctantly fighting on one side in said conflict.
Just this concept alone makes “John Carter” feel like something borrowed from previous science-fiction films we’ve all experienced in the past 40 years.
True, the movie is based off the story “A Princess of Mars,” created a century ago by “Tarzan” author Edgar Rice Burroughs. But that doesn’t change the fact that the movie takes the tired elements we’ve all seen before and refuses to make them fresh again with its goofy action and convoluted plot.
The movie begins in 1881 with a framing device in which a young, fictional Edgar Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) reads the diary of his uncle John Carter (Taylor Kitsch of “Friday Night Lights”), explaining to him the transpiring events of the movie. Carter is a former Confederate captain who travels west in search of gold. He finds it in a cave but also finds an amulet that beams him to Mars, aka Barsoom.
From the moment he arrives on Barsoom, Carter finds he has “up, up and away” jumping powers as a result of the planet’s gravitational pull and his muscle mass (or something like that). He also befriends the Tharks, an alien race resembling what you’d think Martians would look like: tall, green, multi-armed and with tusks. Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), the leader of these green men, wants Carter to fight for his people after seeing his strength and leaping abilities firsthand.
There’s also a conflict going on between two kingdoms — Helium and the mobile city of Zadanga.
Sab Than (Dominic West), the ruler of Zadanga, obtained an ancient weapon given by the Therns (led by Matai Shang, played by Mark Strong), a group of pan-dimensional beings who can shapeshift and work to control the fate of Mars. Sab Than agrees to spare Helium if they agree to an arranged marriage between him and Helium’s princess Dejah (Lynn Collins), but she apparently has her eyes on Carter.
As if this story wasn’t complex enough, there also appears to be a complicated relationship between Tars Tarkas and his rule-breaking daughter Sola (Samantha Morton).
That is the main problem with “John Carter.” There is so much going on in the movie that it’s easy to lose interest in the film’s lack of intrigue and depth. The outcome of this script is disappointing considering the team includes acclaimed writer Michael Chabon (“Spider-Man 2”).
Even more disappointing is that despite this movie being directed by Andrew Stanton (who wrote Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E”) it’s not even mildly entertaining. The action sequences, along with Carter’s jumping effects, are laughable instead of awe-inspiring. Some of the action and humor have their moments, but where’s the fun in watching a guy get treated like a superhero and kill aliens?
The leads, like the audience, get lost in the overly complex plot. Kitsch portrays Carter very earnestly, while Collins vainly attempts to act as she shows off her midriff and spends most of the time giving Carter smoldering looks with her unnaturally blue eyes. The writing just gives their characters so little depth that they have almost nothing to work with.
Despite all of the work put into the movie with its $250-million-plus budget, “John Carter” didn’t have a very successful opening weekend, making only $30 million in the box office. Fingers are pointed at the team behind the project for nut putting enough effort in the two-year production time. In a way, that is accurate, but I personally blame the way it was advertised. This is one of those movies advertised for its effects and nothing else (think “Green Lantern”).
The movie’s visual staging and computer-based effects are impressive, and I did enjoy the musical score, but “John Carter’s” overly serious tone, convoluted plot and uninspired dialogue make it less enjoyable than it should be.