John Carter

Title: John Carter (12)

Year: 2012

Running Time: 132 minutes

Director: Andrew Stanton

Cast: Taylor Kitsch (John Carter), Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris), Willem Defoe (Tars Tarkas) Notes: Won two awards.

Rating: 7

Thoughts:   A veteran of the US Civil war finds himself transported to the fantastical Barsoom where he encounters its inhabitants, finds he has new powers, and then comes to the rescue of a Princess.

This is an adaptation of work by Edgar Rice Burroughs, a very prolific author of fantasy many years ago. He had some amazing ideas and it's no wonder that this one has elements of lots of other stories.

There's a Western start then the film plays out as a collision of Flash Gordon, Dune, Conan , and more. The effects are well done, in particular the giant leaps that Carter can manage.

There are plenty of others though with various creatures, battles in the sky and so much more.

It has to be said the plot creaks at times and it isn't always clear who is doing what, and too many characters lack depth. Part of that is probably the limitation caused by being an adaptation. Backstories are lost.

In addition, the dialogue isn't always great. There is some nice humour but too much of the script feels a little unnatural. It's a romp, little more, and probably should be better given the rich source material.

There's so much to it though that perhaps it would have been better as a TV series.