John Carter

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film is based on the first part 1, A Princess of Mars, of an 11 part series written by Edgar Rice Burroughs called Barsoom. (Before the narrative of Carter, Sab Than a leader on Barsoom/Mars is given a powerful gift by Matai Shang, who is the leader of the Holy Therns. He is given this power to rule Barsoom/Mars so long as he obeys every wish of the Holy Therns.) This film follows the story of John Carter, a man who was a Confederate soldier. He lived as a man without a cause in the 1880's, fighting to find a cave of gold in the Arizonan Desert. After escaping his forced draft (fighting against the Apache Indians) by Captain Powell, he finds a mysterious cave filled with gold. A strange man attacks Carter, but Carter manages to shoot him. He takes an amulet from the man and says a few words that transport him to Mars/Barsoom. There he discovers Tars Tarkas, a Thark leader, and becomes Sola's (a female Thark's) responsibility. His rebellious nature gets Sola into trouble, and nearly murdered. Dejah Thoris is a princess who is forced into a marriage with Sab Than to unite the two kingdoms of men, living on Mars/Barsoom, Helium and Zodanga. This will thereby seal Sab Than's position in leadership on Mars/Barsoom. Dejah Thoris tries to run away, and makes it to the Thark home, and is attacked by Sab Than. John Carter saves her, and she is taken captive by the Tharks. They escape from the Tharks with Sola, and set out on an epic adventure. 

Okay, take a minute to see if the explanation made sense... This film was directed by Andrew Stanton, a popular Disney/Pixar animator. The novel series is old, written in 1912-1943 by Burroughs. Disney had been wanting to make this film since roughly the 1980's, but the technology wasn't available to make this film grand. There is some small amount of science mixed in with this fantasy world if you pay attention, and know your planetary science moderately well, and if you know what to look for. Now, the story line is as busy as it sounds, but that's how it often goes with the first film of a science fiction/adventure film. What makes the film so confusing with narrative and plot is the first several minutes of the film. It goes to the past, then to the present, and then back into to the past, and then travel to Mars/Barsoom in rapid succession. The ending really pulls it all together though. Once that is settled the story has deep meaning behind it. It plays off the idea of fighting for a cause, and discovering yourself. The story is a mix of Star Wars and Conan in a sense. Some of the story is lost in the great graphics. The effects for this film are really great. The aliens, and creatures, look highly believable. There are really four races in mentioned in this film, and two civilized species in this film. There are the two cultures of humans, Helium and Zodanga, and the two cultures of Thark, but only one is really shown. (The dog species on the planet is still adorable-even without fur.) The fighting in the film was good. It kept to the story, and looked great. The unfortunate part was that it has good fighting and good alien design, but it's backdrop weren't as good. There didn't appear to be any culture that had lived on Barsoom/Mars until maybe a few years ago. (The film dedication to Steve Jobs was interesting in the end credits. Maybe when the film is on sale I'll understand why in the special features.)

The cast worked well together for a group of unknown actors. They had some good chemistry together, and they gave the film its image. It is unfortunate that the dialogue wasn't better for the actors. Taylor Kitsch played the leading role of John Carter. This is first real leading role in Hollywood, and he did good. I liked his look because he looked believable as an ex-Confederate soldier (from the 1880's) who just got sent to a strange world (and didn't look like Conan in space). He gave his character a feeling of being lost which fit the film really well. Lynn Collins played the role of Dejah Thoris. She did all right in her role being a scientist/warrior/princess-a very multi-tasked character. Samantha Morton performed the role of Sola. She was good in her limited role. Even though her character is important to the story, its kept within short limitations. Dominic West played the role of Sab Than. He was good at playing the ignorant wannabe ruler of Mars/Barsoom. He kept his character ignorant without appearing stupid which is good. Mark Strong played the role of Matai Shang. He is great being the mysterious powerful villain force as has become his general roles. He has great presence on screen-no matter how unusual the role is, and it remains apparent in this film. 

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars! It has a good storyline, even if it is confusing to follow at times. The animation was done really well, and it is a great epic adventure film.

Answer to last blog: Actress Li Gong is also known, other than the film Curse of the Golden Flower, for the film Memoirs of a Geisha. 

Which two actors both stared in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but did not share screen time together?

Lynn Collins and Taylor Kitsch
Samantha Morton and Dominic West
Taylor Kitsch and Samantha Morton
Dominic West and Lynn Collins