Over the weekend I decided to watch a movie for the first time in months. It’s that time of the year where movies, plainly put, suck. The Oscars are over, movies without sound win big awards, and apparently people don’t care about movies until the summer time. Alas, this is not so. I care about movies, and as a result, I stayed away from the movie theaters until today…well, actually last Friday.
The cinema is empty, with people scattered about the huge theater in the early evening. I don’t know why I’m setting it up this way, but that’s how it happened. It was empty, which is not uncommon, it was kind of sad, and the huge theater showed off an amazing, non-3D take of the newest Disney epic, John Carter.
For the past week, my coworkers and friends have been asking me about this movie. You see it everywhere, and for some reason, they all kept mistaking John Carter with John Connor, thinking that the movie had to deal with the kid from Terminator 2.
The movie is based on a science fiction series, written by Edgar Rice Boroughs. It follows a man, John Carter, a veteran from the Civil War, from the state of Virginia, who, through a series of bizarre circumstances, finds himself on the planet of Barsoom, also known as Mars. He becomes a hero, he has super powers, and he meets beautiful people. It’s a pretty original concept, I would think, especially for 1912, when he made his first appearance.
A decade later, we find John Carter on the big screen, and with all the bad reviews, I expected something like Prince of Persia. In other words, a bad movie. The movie runs for almost two hours, and I honestly don’t know what happened to it all. It was a well paced, fun, humorous and action packed movie. From beginning to end, John Carter gives you something to enjoy. It’s not incredibly deep, the names are hard to remember, but it keeps you in your seat, glued until the end.
The audience, as few as they were, were engaged, with a few people reacting to scenes of suspence and awe. I thought that would be annoying, but it really was a fun movie to watch. It was a cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and, to some degree, the good parts of Prince of Persia (and there were a few, like the costumes, the sets, and the princess, which this happens to have all those). Yes, I realize they’re both Disney films, and it makes sense. It was a popcorn eating, action packed, ride that has every cliche I know in the book following in it’s wake. Like Pirates, it’s a grand adventure spanning the vast sea of the skies, which I realize doesn’t make much sense unless you see the movie. There are side quests and missions, and the villains, at least with the most alien creatures, are hateable.
Having never gone to a film school, I can’t tell you much about the cinematography. It was good enough to keep me engaged, and unfortunately the music was forgetful. It probably set the mood, and now that I think about it, I can’t remember the melody. The acting was fine, I don’t think it’s anything to write home to. The main characters are easier to watch on screen than most sci-fi/fantasty couples. The CGI was realistic enough to where the very alien creatures seemed to just seemlessly meld with the scenery, and therefore you never really feel taken out of the film. I also did not see it in 3D, so I have no idea how good it is there.
I recommend this film. It’s a good time and it’s oddly memorable. There was even a scene that made me tear up a bit. It’s not going to be the next Pirates, but it’s leagues better than Prince of Persia. If I were to give this a rating, I would give it 8 out of 10 planets.
