In the large view, this film is passable entertainment, featuring lots of sword play, eerie landscapes, bizarre alien creatures, air combat, laser blasts -- the sort of stuff Hollywood loves to include in all SF blockbusters. Evoking memories of the Flash Gordon serials of yesteryear and the original Star Wars trilogy, the movie tries hard to be visually-appealing and action-filled, while remaining as faithful as possible to the source material, Edgar Rice Burroughs' (ERB) "A Princess of Mars."
As a huge fan of SF and ERB and as someone who has read most of ERB's books, I have to commend Disney for turning out an interesting film despite highly compressing the story to fit a two hour time frame. As is the case with most novels made into movies, "John Carter" takes story elements that the novelist carefully unfolded in 10 or 20 pages and gives it 30 seconds on screen. Other reviewers have said the story as told by the film feels "rushed," which is true.
John Carter's development from a "stranger in a strange land" to a mighty warrior respected and prized by the Tharks also felt rushed in the film. I am certain that viewers unfamiliar with the books do struggle to keep the story straight as it blitzes forward. I'm hoping the movie will revive interest in the original books.
A major non-ERB element added to the film is the elevation of the Holy Therns, who play a relatively minor role in the ERB books, to the status of alien masterminds who insidiously control all aspects of Barsoom's politics and culture. This, in my mind, significantly changes the complexion of the original novels. Obviously, the main purpose of the Therns in the film is to speed up the action and give the audience tangible "bad guys" to jeer at.
Despite these deviations from the original novel, "John Carter," I think succeeds in appealing to modern film goers while remaining relatively faithful to the source material. Going in, I was extremely fearful that Carter would suffer the same fate that Hollywood dealt to another one of my pulp heroes, Doc Savage, whose movie appeal was destroyed by the disastrous 1975 film. Thankfully, "John Carter" has not gone the way of "Doc Savage: Man of Bronze."
As a huge fan of SF and ERB and as someone who has read most of ERB's books, I have to commend Disney for turning out an interesting film despite highly compressing the story to fit a two hour time frame. As is the case with most novels made into movies, "John Carter" takes story elements that the novelist carefully unfolded in 10 or 20 pages and gives it 30 seconds on screen. Other reviewers have said the story as told by the film feels "rushed," which is true.
John Carter's development from a "stranger in a strange land" to a mighty warrior respected and prized by the Tharks also felt rushed in the film. I am certain that viewers unfamiliar with the books do struggle to keep the story straight as it blitzes forward. I'm hoping the movie will revive interest in the original books.
A major non-ERB element added to the film is the elevation of the Holy Therns, who play a relatively minor role in the ERB books, to the status of alien masterminds who insidiously control all aspects of Barsoom's politics and culture. This, in my mind, significantly changes the complexion of the original novels. Obviously, the main purpose of the Therns in the film is to speed up the action and give the audience tangible "bad guys" to jeer at.
Despite these deviations from the original novel, "John Carter," I think succeeds in appealing to modern film goers while remaining relatively faithful to the source material. Going in, I was extremely fearful that Carter would suffer the same fate that Hollywood dealt to another one of my pulp heroes, Doc Savage, whose movie appeal was destroyed by the disastrous 1975 film. Thankfully, "John Carter" has not gone the way of "Doc Savage: Man of Bronze."