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John Carter was a box office failure when released on March 9, 2012.
Was it really as bad as some people claimed? Or was it just doomed from the start?
Based upon Edgar Rice Burroughs 11-volume Barsoom series of novels, John Carter is a story of an interplanetary
Earthling who finds himself on the surface of Mars. There he is able to impress a local alien tribe with
his new found ability – an ability in which he can thank Mars’ lesser gravity level for. His
new powers include: jumping to impeccable levels and super strength. And it is up to John Carter to save
the princess from the evil clutches of Sab Than.
Let’s start off with the cast.
Taylor Kitsch, whom you may remember as Gambit from X-men Origins: Wolverine, plays John Carter. It
took a little while for me to warm up to his performance… let alone his character. But after time,
he really grew on me. Lynn Collins plays the beautiful Princess Dejah Thoris, and her portrayal of the
powerful princess was amazing. In fact, the entire cast was pretty strong. Most of them
were voice actors playing various alien tribesmen, but every performance was believable and spot on.
The graphics were also a nice little surprise. It’s hard to make new original sci-fi movies
without mimicking previous releases, and I feel they did a solid job introducing us to the world and the inhabitants of Mars.
Unfortunately, you are only as strong as your weakest link.
And that link was the story itself. The story wasn’t confusing at all, it just wasn’t
that interesting to follow. I enjoyed the way the movie was narrated through a letter that John Carter
wrote, and I enjoyed the various characters throughout the movie, but the story just didn’t appeal to me.
It had a few nice action sequences and a fun and interesting ending, but the middle was dull and uninspiring.
The Bottom Line: Was it as bad as people said? No. Was it worth watching in the theater?
No. John Carter is filled with mildly entertaining action, great acting, fun characters and a dull
story that put the final nail in the box office coffin.
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