Andrew Stanton successfully helmed Finding Nemo and Wall-E for Disney/Pixar. However, with John Carter, which marks his live-action debut, something is missing. While one look at the visuals—amazing shots of the moving city of Zodanga as it devastates the Martian landscape—makes it clear that Stanton was thinking big. Even so, there are a lot of themes and characters at play here, and Stanton never really brings it all together to form a cohesive narrative.
For those unfamiliar with the story, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) a civil war vet hunting for gold in Arizona has accidently stumbled into a secret chamber, where an encounter with a Thern, a holy being, transports him to the to the planet Barsoom (also known as Mars).He soon discovers that the lack of gravity has given him superhuman strength. Carter quickly attracts the attention of the Tharks (characters that look like walruses crossed with an ape or something like that), and the humans in the warring cities of Helium and Zodanga. The former is led by Tardos Mors (Ciarán Hinds) and his beautiful daughter, the Princess of Mars, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). The latter is ruled by the tyrannical Sab Than (Dominic West) whom Dejah is supposed to marry, in a bid to gain peace between the warring factions.
But of course, John and Dejah eventually fall in love. She convinces him to fight for her people, though his return to combat doesn’t always go smoothly. Carter has to battle his way through deserts, Martians, and periods of self doubt, before he can be the hero.
While John Carter has moments of excitement, at 132 minutes it’s too long, and poorly paced. Several scenes spend a lot of time explaining plot points that just don’t matter, rather than focusing on the action scenes, which are a real highlight of the film. The battles are massive, and the violence occasionally excessive, but at least they’re always exciting. The non-action scenes might be better if the two leads weren’t so devoid of emotion. Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins aren’t great actors. While Kitsch certainly has the abs for a proper movie star, he delivers his lines like he has a mouthful of marbles. As for Collins, she simply over dramatizes everything to a tiring degree.
Lackluster box-office has put the planned sequel to John Carter in question. That’s a real shame, because Edgar Rice Burroughs’ story had the potential to be a great film. Andrew Stanton and his crew were right to think big when approaching this material. However, somewhere along the way, it seems as though they forgot about the importance of story, character, and narrative. Without all of that, even the best action scenes don’t amount to much.
Shown in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio, it should come as no surprise that Disney has delivered a flawless 1080p transfer. Colors are bold, and clarity is fabulous across the board. There are no digital anomalies to mention. Black levels are inky, and contrast is impressive in terms of the amount of detail offered, even during CGI-laden scenes.
The English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 is reference quality. The entire soundstage is involved from beginning to end, creating a truly immersive experience. Big action sequences offer pinpoint directionality, and make full use of the LFE. Dialogue is crisp and clear throughout. This audio track pretty much represents everything HD should be.
English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles are available.
The following special features are included along with a standard DVD:
- Audio Commentary: Director Andrew Stanton and producers Jim Morris and Lindsey Collins discuss the films development, casting, production and visual effects. Particular attention is paid to explaining the technical challenges, the live and computer-generated performances, and charting the long journey from page to screen.
- Disney Second Screen Interactive Experience: Explore John Carter’s journal with Disney’s Second Screen app. Download the corresponding app to your iPad or laptop, sync the film with your device, and explore additional content.
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Director’s Commentary (HD, 19 minutes): Ten deleted scenes are available in various states of disrepair.
- 100 Years in the Making (HD, 10 minutes): This featurette examines Edgar Rice Burroughs’ life, the origins and success of the original “John Carter” series, the many attempts filmmakers have era made to bring his stories to the silver screen, and the adaptation that made it into theaters some one-hundred years after the character was introduced.
- 360 Degrees of John Carter (HD, 35 minutes): This extensive day-in-the-shoot production diary visits the costume and makeup departments, follows Stanton as he works, and watches as the cast and crew prepare to film several shots.
- Barsoom Bloopers (HD, 2 minutes): Standard stuff. Rather boring.
