Saturday, May 19, 2012

John Carter (movie)

I had never heard of this film or (I'm ashamed to admit) this classic book. I saw it as a new release online and watched the trailer to see what it was. The trailer looked great so I decided to give the movie a try.

It. Was. Epic.

John Carter is the story of a man from the late 1800s that is magically transported to Mars. Once there, he quickly learns that his dense bone structure, coupled with his having grown up on a planet with a more intense gravity, allows him to essentially have super strength and near-flight capabilities on Mars. And that's just the beginning.

I won't say much because, as always, my reviews are spoiler free, but he becomes involved with the people on Mars and learns about himself in the process. The special effects are great, the story is epic and (mostly) original.

There is NOTHING not to like about this movie.

Only AFTER watching it did I learn that this movie was basically the largest flop in Disney history. My reaction: WWHHHHAAAAATTTTT!?!?!?!

How is this possible? The movie cost $250 million (money well-spent) and it only grossed $71 million domestically! This is a travesty!

I'm chalking this loss up to poor advertising. Granted, I don't watch TV and so I don't often see previews, but I certainly had never heard of it. I'm guessing it did so poorly because no one else heard it existed either. That's all I can think of. It was a masterpiece of story and cinema.

Everyone must watch this move immediately.

My Rating: 5/5
My Recommendation: See it, buy it, watch it over and over.

1 comment:

Jimmy Quentin Trapp said...

There's a lot to be said about film titles that bare a resemblance to nothing familiar. John Carter of Mars? What the heck does that mean? It typically compels people to want to find out and poor money into the mystery.

But I'm with you, why did this fail so heavily? It's a cult classic and people love the books...at least those who've read it. I guess growing up KNOWING of Edgar Rice Burroughs helps me to get excited where a good chunk of today's youth has no idea who he is.

But still, it's an action film at its best,so it's a very baffling instance.