Was John Carter a good film?

fredzilla

I was unable to catch the film in the theater, but I just ordered the blu-ray from Amazon and am excited to see it. All the reviews I've seen are really a mixed bag, and so I thought I would see what a group of people that most most likely appreciate the genre thought of it.

I know next to null about the storyline. If you've read the story and/or seen the movie, try to separate the two in your answer/discussion.

Begin.

kgforce

Fun.

I liked it... better than Hunger Games.

fredzilla

Awesome!

@kgforce Well that bodes well for me then, because I enjoyed The Hunger Games. Did you read THG before seeing the movie?

MikeGallagher

Awesome!

I love the books. I love the movie. It was a great romp!

KyleMoyer

Fun.

I think fun is the best choice. I'd put it a little bit higher than "fun," but maybe not quite in the awesome category. Either way, it was definitely a good movie and worth the money. You say reviews are a mixed bag. I haven't really been following the reviews too much, but from what I've seen, the reviews from critics were a mixed bag, but the reviews from the people who saw the movie (as few as they may be) were very positive.

(and in case it helps with evaluating my opinion, I have not read/seen any John Carter books or comics or pornos or anything else at all involving the character other than seeing the movie)

John_Steed

Awesome!

Haven't seen it yet - it was only a very short time shown around here. I most certainly will get it on blu as soon it's available.

fredzilla

Awesome!

@John_Steed It's out today, 6/5, and Amazon has 3D Blu-ray, Blue-Ray, DVD, and digital copy for $25. Even if it's not that good, this deal was too hard to pass up.

@KyleMoyer I try to ignore a lot of the critic's reviews as they're usually wrong as compared to my tastes, but it really was a mixed bag. However, some of the everyman reviews I've seen (iTunes, Amazon, and i09) have also given it mixed reviews. Yet it seems like more and more are giving it positive reviews. It just seems like it's one of those under-the-radar hits. Maybe it will do better in the home video market than it did in the theater.

dubbat138

Fun.

I love the books. I love the movie. It was a great romp!

I got most of the Burroughs John Carter novels at a con a few years ago for 10 cents each. But still haven't read them. Gonna rent the film from Netflix and after watching it read the novels. I did see the made for Syfy "Princess of Mars" film that had Traci Lords in it. It wasn't bad for a made for Syfy film.

DAR

Fun.

Yep I thought the movie was a lot of fun. I watched it in theaters and really liked. Watched again tonight and liked it even more. I think this could gain some traction of the years as a hidden gem.

Torchsong

Awesome!

I'm a long-time John Carter fan (look for a certain podcast on here to showcase the character fairly soon) so I went into this movie with high hopes and low expectations. They couldn't possibly get it right. No way.

Damned if they didn't get as close to the mark as I could hope for. I voted Awesome!

And now I'm off to Amazon to take advantage of that Blu-Ray special!

kgforce

Fun.

@kgforce Well that bodes well for me then, because I enjoyed The Hunger Games. Did you read THG before seeing the movie?

Yeah, I read The Hunger Games before the movie, and I also read 'A Princess of Mars' before seeing John Carter. The reason I compare the two is because I saw John Carter one day, and Hunger Games the next day.

rebis

Fun.

I voted Fun. the only thing that kept me from giving the movie an "awesome" was the casting of John Carter. Taylor Kitsch would have made a great Carthoris, if the series progresses that far. He just doesn't come across as having the maturity that someone with John Carter's past should have. Mark Strong & Lynn Collins are just wonderful.

steel

Fun.

I saw it at a press screening and it was the first movie I remember enjoying that much in a long time. I'd compare it to Star Wars (it's not as much of a masterpiece obviously, but good space fun).

shroud68

Fun.

I really liked it. I hate to see movies chewed up by the Holloywood hype machine before they even make it out to opening weekend. It deserved better from the public.

And while no Slave Leia fan, I love Barbarian chicks ( though not Bridgette Neilson's Red Sonja) and I though Lynn Collins was distractingtly hot on that film. Maybe I'm in a slump with the Mrs. but every time she was on the screen I thought of nothing else but her. Besides that it was a good sci-fi film and well done!!

Flintlockjaw

Meh.

Meh. Disneyfied clap-trap. It had potential...but ultimately a huge waste of money. Not for adults..but good for kids 4-10 years old.

John_Steed

Awesome!

Harry Knowles' comment about the JOHN CARTER BluRay:

I love the birth of the 20th Century. The literature, the spirit of the country, the artwork & ideas that led to the pop culture and imagination of the times we live in. 100 years ago, Edgar Rice Burroughs dreamt of something, not too different from what you see in JOHN CARTER. This is an absolutely fantastic film. In terms of pure popcorn awesome, only THE AVENGERS kicks its ass this year. Like many films ahead of their time and beyond their studios true understanding… we’ll have to add JOHN CARTER to those films that the world was not properly prepared, so its success will be a long one. Time will be kind to John Carter – so if you decided to let the negative market watch industry-tards and you stayed away. Give it a chance. If not in its premium format, then through Netflix or however you choose to watch your films. I think you’ll be likely smitten. Andrew Stanton made a helluva film. Generations will love this film. You’ll see. BTW – the BluRay is great, I’ve been waiting patiently with my disc, for the moment Disney’s Second Screen option comes digitally to life so I can watch the film that way. Today is when that option goes live. I’m giddy. The rest of the features on the bluray are outstanding. I’ve devoured them, obviously I’m insatiable upon this particular subject, so yeah, I want even more, but I’ll gladly buy the upgraded version in 5 years when everyone wakes up and sees… OH THAT’S HOW WE DO IT… and the sequel is greenlit. Yes, I currently have a zealot look upon my face.

source: aintitcool.com

fredzilla

Awesome!

After returning from vacation, the misses and I finally saw John Carter. It was fantastic and we both really liked it. I figured I would enjoy it either way, but my wife said she was pleasantly surprised and thought it was actually good. I'm glad that I got the combo pack that I did. Thanks for your input everyone.

sandman

Fun.

I enjoyed the movie. I would put it just below awesome. The ending was great.

Fade2Black

Fun.

I went with "fun", but my actual answer lies somewhere in between "fun" and "meh".
The action sequences and the way they integrated E.R.B. into the story worked for me, but I had issues with some of the actor's performances, specifically one of the main antagonists and some of the more ancillary characters, and the poor acting was to the extent that their on-screen presence (or lack thereof) became a distraction. I guess the best endorsement I can give the movie was that I bought it on blu-ray, and I'm not the kind of person who's at Target every Tuesday buying up the latest releases. The film certainly had room for improvement, but it wasn't as bad as the box-office numbers might suggest.

I should mention, I read A Princess of Mars the week prior to seeing the movie, and while there are many places where APoM and JC differ, those differences didn't bother me as much as the awful performances.

Flintlockjaw

Meh.

History will not judge this movie kindly.

Dave2099

Awesome!

A buddy of mine showed it to me on DVD and did something brilliant: he chapter-skipped over that stupid prologue. I'm telling you... it makes all the difference! Half the fun of a movie like this is taking in the spectacle through the eyes of the protagonist as it comes; you can't do that when they spell out everything for you in an obnoxious pseudo-Nemoy voiceover.

Chapter skip the first scene, watch the movie from there. Do that and it's a pretty great ride!

random73

Fun.

A buddy of mine showed it to me on DVD and did something brilliant: he chapter-skipped over that stupid prologue. I'm telling you... it makes all the difference! Half the fun of a movie like this is taking in the spectacle through the eyes of the protagonist as it comes; you can't do that when they spell out everything for you in an obnoxious pseudo-Nemoy voiceover.

Chapter skip the first scene, watch the movie from there. Do that and it's a pretty great ride!

That's a great idea. The beginning is a bit clunky.

Gonzogoose

Fun.

I bought this recently and have watched it twice. It was better on the second viewing. I have an older friend who really raved about it as he had grown up reading the books and was just blown away by the film. I think he oversold it because of his passion for it and it wasn't able to live up to that praise. But once I saw it the first time and knew what to expect the second time was even better and I really enjoyed it.

John_Steed

Awesome!

I've finally seen the movie now (on blu) - and I loved every moment of it. Awesome adventure. By now it has made an tiny profit worldwide. Let's hope they will "risk" another one. I would love to see the same people involved again. This movie is a grower - for sure.

Chuck_Melville

Awesome!

Absolutely awesome. I've waited decades for a movie version and this one batted it out of the ballpark on the first swing; I was not disappointed. I wasn't even bothered by the beginning, which some folks seem to find clunky; I accepted that as the film's version of the first book's prologue where the author converses with Carter on Earth between the events of the first and second books. It worked for me.

Chuck_Melville

Awesome!

Flintlockjaw said:

History will not judge this movie kindly.

You know, I agree with that, but not for the same reasons as you. I think history will remember this film as the hugely budgeted fantasy film that might have become a stellar hit had its own studio not marketed it into failure.

John_Steed

Awesome!

Flintlockjaw said:

Meh. Disneyfied clap-trap. It had potential...but ultimately a huge waste of money. Not for adults..but good for kids 4-10 years old.

just imagine all that spilled blue blood to be red instead and add some naked boobs - if that helps you to make it more "adult" :P

RedRight88

Meh.

Meh. having now seen the film, while there were some interesting points, I found my attention wandering around most of the time.

WetRats

Fun.

Finally saw it.

Good script. Gorgeous design. Great FX. Good direction. Weak lead performance.

Hellsfire

Horrible.

I just watched this movie tonight. It was horrible. If you liked the Prequels or Green Lantern, both bad movies, odds are you'll like this movie. It had bad, cartoony CGI; plot that made no sense; terrible characterization, confusing and slow beginning; but the directing was decent and the chick was hot. Glad there won't be a sequel.

Chuck_Melville

Awesome!

Well, at this stage the poll seems to be about 82% agreed it was a good movie, and only about 15% that it was disappointing. Sounds positive enough to me to prove that Disney botched up a good thing.

There's a missing 3% somewhere; maybe they went out for popcorn.