John Carter Review

If ever there was a movie I wanted to be good but expected to be bad, John Carter is it.  Director Andrew Stanton is a hero of mine.  The man behind WALL-E, Stanton is the only celebrity I've ever written a fan letter to, and for weeks after, I waited with anxious, strangely confident anticipation that I would get a reply, maybe even an invitation to come study under him at Pixar.  Alas, it was not to be.  Maybe it's still on its way.

When it was announced that Stanton would follow up his semi-silent robot romance masterpiece with an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' books about a Civil War captain who travels to Mars, I wasn't thrilled.  The premise almost demands a campy presentation, and the thought of Stanton taking on a live-action film after directing the finest bit of animation in the history of film, while exciting, was also a bit disappointing.

Then came the marketing, which made John Carter look like some sort of Prince of Persia by way of Firefly.  The trailers looked like a mess of ideas all competing to dominate a world that appeared lost in translation.  I clung to an ever-diminishing hope that the final product would be a thrilling pre-summer blockbuster, but the only thread that could support any expectations was Andrew Stanton's involvement.  From where I was sitting (hunched over my computer, rolling my eyes at the latest clip), it looked like a mistake for Stanton to leave the animated realm, even after Brad Bird's fantastic transition with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

It was not a mistake.

John Carter is a bit messy, a bit campy, a bit of everything.  It's science fiction that borrows from numerous other genres and sources, resulting in a brilliantly, beautifully textured world that continually surprises.  Though the story being told is fairly straight-forward while simultaneously being strangely convoluted, the vision Stanton and his crew have created is a gorgeous take on Mars that owes a debt to many, and pays tribute to all.

The most obvious source of inspiration is the Star Wars universe.  John Carter seeks to inherit the mantle of thrilling sci-fi action/romance/adventure/etc. from George Lucas's films, and largely succeeds.  Mars (known to its natives as Basoom) is a cross between Return of the Jedi-era Tatooine and Attack of the Clones' Geonosis, complete with skiff-like ships, arena battles, and vast deserts.  It's a subtle world that, at first glance, doesn't look much different from the Arizona Territory from which Carter escapes, but as he discovers winding rivers, moving cities, and mystical temples, the sumptuous art direction brings the world to vivid life.

Such a gorgeously realized world wouldn't be possible without stellar special effects, which John Carter has in spades.  The dragonfly-meet-speeder bike ships, the towering Tharks, the mystical blue power that dominates much of the story, are all realized wonderfully, if not terribly originally.  The most unique creations are the towering white apes, which in and of themselves are a sort of Wampa-Rancor hybrid, and the speedy amphibian space mutt that serves as Carter's trusty sidekick, comic relief, and deus ex machina.

It's not surprising that the cast takes a backseat to the whiz-bangingness of the film's visual elements, but they're solid across the board.  Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) doesn't come off as a natural leading man, but as Carter grows from a reckless wanderer to a focused leader, his acting chops come out.  He's certainly more charming and watchable than Avatar it-boy Sam Worthington.

Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is the movie's breakout star.  As Martian princess Dejah Thoris, Collins is the most scantily-clad and spunky space royalty since Princess Leia.  Collins does quite a bit of falling, but far from being a damsel in distress, she is satisfyingly badass when she gets a blade in her hand, and she gives Dejah dignity and purpose as she does what she believes is best for her people, even if it comes across as more of a plot necessity than a believable action for her character.

The other big names in the cast are mostly present only in voice, with Willem Dafoe and Samantha Morton lending their vocal talents to the two main Tharks (Dafoe's work is great).  Mark Strong returns to his villainous ways after a more heroic turn in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but his blank slate shape-shifter actually takes on some interesting dimension as he reveals himself to be the equivalent of Fringe's observers.

If only the story were a bit better.  There's some quasi-spiritual power searching, political wedding planning, familial reconnection, and, of course, a romance.  But what works best is Carter's transformation.  Our protagonist navigates two worlds, traveling across time, space, and genre to discover what it means to have a cause.  John Carter is a Western, science-fiction, an adventure story (the solid score evokes Indiana Jones), a romance, and a war film.  It's a Jack-of-all-trades that comes close to mastering them all, and even if the parts aren't wholly satisfying, the whole is likely one of the most flat-out enjoyable films you'll see all year.

And, however goofy the film is, at least it's aware.  Instead of going the super-serious route, Stanton allows the film to dip into camp and dive into comedy.  Some of the film's most memorable moments are also the funniest, with Carter adjusting to Barsoom's gravity, tormenting an officer (a fun turn by Bryan Cranston), and being treated like a Thark hatchling.  The film's finest moment, though, falls at the opposite end of the spectrum, in a perfectly edited scene juxtaposing a raging Carter fighting off an army with a more desperate scene from his life on Earth.

The frame that surrounds the main narrative pays clever homage to Burroughs and leaves open the opportunity for a franchise in a suitably thrilling manner.  Based on this first foray into the intertwining worlds of John Carter, I hope we get to go back.