Epic war on Mars

John Carter (2012)
Certified: PG
Duration: 132 minutes
Directed by: Andrew Stanton
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Bryan Cranston, Daryl Sabara, Jon Favreau
KRS release

I have long been an admirer of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s series of books about John Carter of Mars. In fact, as a kid, I used to like this character even more than Tarzan, his more famous creation.

The characters of John Carter and Dejah Thoris on the cover of the first edition of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1917).

The film is unabashedly retro in its look, exquisite in its old serial style and boasts some exhilarating action sequences and special effects’- Johan Galea

Many will pompously declare that John Carter looks like many other films, yet they simply could not be more wrong.

This is a work adapted from the 1917 novel A Princess of Mars, initially printed in serial form in 1912.

It was so seminal that it kicked off a series of 11 novels and constituted the grounds of inspiration for sci-fi classics such as Star Wars, Superman and Avatar. It was also one of the first books to set the template for the space opera genre.

In 1881, a young Edgar Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) discovers his uncle John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) dead and consequently inherits his large estate. Yet it is while reading through his uncle’s journals that he learns of the great adventures his uncle had embarked upon.

He learns how the war-weary John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) had been a Confederate cavalryman in battle with the Indians and in conflict with Colonel Powell (Bryan Cranston). He ends up transported to the planet Mars whose inhabitants call it Barsoom. Here Carter discovers increased strength and can leap over extensive distances due to the difference in gravity.

On Mars Carter encounters Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe), a four-armed warrior and the leader of alike creatures who steer clear from the other more technologically advanced nations. The other parties are more humanlike and intent on destroying the world through the war they wage.

The city of Zodanga under the leadership of Sab Than (Dominic West) has a weapon given to them by the powerful Matai Shang (Mark Strong) which is levelling cities. The last city left standing is Helium, led by Tardos Mors (Ciaran Hinds).

In order to bring peace, Tardos Mors arranges a marriage between his daughter Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) and Sab Than. This does not thrill the Princess in the slightest and will end up in alliance with John Carter when he is captured by Sola (Samantha Morton), Tars Tarkas’s daughter.

Carter wants to get back to earth but he also wants to help Dejah Thoris to fight against Sab Than and thwart Matai Shang’s nefarious plans.

The film is unabashedly retro in its look, exquisite in its old serial style and boasts some exhilarating action sequences and special effects. For anyone who wants to see a visual spectacle on a grand scale, John Carter is a must-see.

Directed ably by Andrew Stanton, who comes from the Pixar family and worked on Wall-E and Finding Nemo, the film smoothly makes the transition from animation to live action.

His background in animation gives the director the aptitude to create a variety of alien creatures that become a real part of the tapestry that is woven on screen.

This epic also delivers well in its pulpish look at alien cities, spaceships and the devastating “ninth ray”!

It’s very rare to have a huge fantasy/science fiction film on screen and John Carter more than fills the gap. If there was ever a film which seemed as though it had leapt out of the wonderful canvases painted by Frank Frazetta, this is it.

Taylor Kitsch plays the part well as he strikes all the right poses. The script too is quite revelatory; for non-readers this is an introduction to a whole new universe.

I really enjoyed the retro feel this movie exudes as it moves from one action sequence to another always upping the ante. It’s a pity that US critics decided to focus more on the film’s enormous budget than the movie per se and lambasted this film as being another Waterworld, months ahead of its release.

The film shows that its director loves the original content he was given to work with, and has delivered a very faithful film, one that has taken too long to materialise on screen, which is its rightful home.