Jeff of Lombard's review of sci-fi thriller 'John Carter'

First, I need to say that I've been a fan of these John Carter books for over 20 years, so the director had a ready made fan -- if done well, but also he had the chance for creating a strong critic.

I'll refer to the actors by their character names, because I don't remember all the actors' names. I saw the movie twice in normal 2D, so can't comment on the 3-D conversion.

Pros: The acting ranged from good to much better than that (with one exception noted later). Dejah Thoris was excellent -- completely believable as a strong woman and daughter first, scientist second, warrior third.

In the books, I pictured her a little younger, but the actress captured the role. John Carter portrayed a stranger on a strange planet well, especially the physical aspects. He demonstrated character intelligence along with physical prowess.

Kantos Kan stood out in a small role. The voicing of the Tharks (the green Martians) was filled with believable emotions.

John Carter's and Dejah Thoris' romance was completely believable. The sparks between them were intense, smoldering even. They were in love.

The special effects were noteworthy. While I put this relatively low in importance to long term interest of a film (I've no interest in plenty of great special effects movies from the past if they were only special effects movies), the special effects were 100% immersive. The Tharks were part of the movie, not an obvious CGI tack on.

Barsoom was unique in its look. I especially loved the wheel controls on the flyers, beautiful. Unlike any other futuristic looks I've seen. Sort of a futuristic images a reader in 1912 could conceive. There were many small details that created the world.

Woola (the Martian dog) was loyal and fierce, and lovable -- just like in the books.

For readers of the books, many other small things were included, such as laying the hands on the right shoulders (the Martian handshake). The one scene of John Carter surrounded by a literal pile of enemy bodies is right out of the book.

Cons: The pacing dragged a bit at times. A little too wordy in the middle of the movie. Editing out two or three minutes would have helped. Another action scene of two or three minutes instead would have been better. There were plenty in the books.

The dialogue was a bit unbalanced. Much of the dialogue seemed appropriate for a 1868 Earthman on another planet, which I appreciated. Unfortunately a few sentences here and there sounded as a modern person would say them, jarring with the remainder of the dialogue.

Matai Shang, the chief antagonist, was too flat. His emotions and reasoning did not come across well. When he was on screen, I wasn't entertained.

For readers of the books, there were unnecessary plot changes. Some fit or were OK (John Carter's past life, Tars Tarkas' family), but the largest error was making Matai Shang and the Therns the kind of villains they became. Powers behind the scene, fine, but the director went too far off course. The Zoganda/Helium and intra-Thark conflicts were enough.

The score didn't stand out one way or the other to me, so I can't comment.

Excluding my knowledge of the books, as a stand-alone movie, I give John Carter an A- rating. I'll definitely be buying the DVD for my collection. I loved the world Andrew Stanton and the actors created. Considering the book, I'd drop the rating down to a B+, due to unnecessary plot changes which overly complicated the story, most especially Matai Shang. Unfortunately the opening weekend take makes it look as if we won't be getting a sequel. This movie created world needs a sequel.

Thank you for your time in reading this disagreement with your review. In my opinion, this was a smart, well acted, well made adventure movie. I wish we received more movies like this instead of insulting to my intelligence movies such as Immortals or Transformers. — Jeff of Lombard