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I saw this last night (3D) and was very pleased and satisfied....I had some misgivings due to a couple of bad mouth reviews but once again it proved to me that if something gets bad reviews it means I'll probably love it. Taylor Kitsch reminded me more than once of Johnny Depp (appearance-wise) . The efx and eye candy are amazing and left me wanting more at the finale. Enjoyed the score (discussed on the other side of the board)...everything about the film was a class act IMO. 5 stars.
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I saw this last night (3D) and was very pleased and satisfied....I had some misgivings due to a couple of bad mouth reviews but once again it proved to me that if something gets bad reviews it means I'll probably love it. Taylor Kitsch reminded me more than once of Johnny Depp (appearance-wise) . The efx and eye candy are amazing and left me wanting more at the finale. Enjoyed the score (discussed on the other side of the board)...everything about the film was a class act IMO. 5 stars.
Well I'm glad you LOVED it but it is an average film held down by too many things...
First, the dialogue is awful and sadly none of the actors except for the aliens are able to make it convincing and while it might be true to the source, it just sounds so silly when spoken aloud.
The movie has a quick pace but is far too rushed and none of the scenes breath...even after some intense moments things just always cut to the next thing and the next moment.
When Carter makes a last stand against the aliens and we see a flash back to his family... that scene need time to breath but the editing rushing all the great shots and doesn't let any of them linger.
The story... it was mess. Blue Humans vs Red Humans with proud aliens on the sidelines plus immortal/shape shifting/whatever beings pulling the strings... I understood the basics but between the names of the races, the people, the planets, and all of the like very little seemed to matter and fuck all if I ever got why the 9 rings where important or the river Issis.
Because it is a novel, so much of the film was exposition, set pieces and action/adventure bits, back to exposition, and so on and so on that thank GOODNESS that dog creature was there to steal the movie.
The climax was rather weak and while it certainly ends sequel ready, it felt awful to not have a great pay off.
By no means was it THE LAST AIRBENDER bad and I certainly felt it better and more adult then THE PHANTOM MENACE but as it stands, I find it to be 6/10 film.
I will certainly keep an eye out for an extended BluRay
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sorry, skip down one.
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I pretty much agree with you, Charles. The bone-headed criticism I've read seems to congregate around 1) how much the film cost (Lord knows, the money's all up on the screen); 2) basic critical loathing of 3D (Watch it in 2D--I did and loved it); and, 3) indifference to Taylor Kitch as the lead (I thought he did fine but there admittedly may be a DRAGONSLAYER/Peter MacNichol factor going on there on some level.) Lynn Collins' Dejah Thoris is marvellous though--authorative AND sexy. Mark Strong's shapeshifting villain also makes a very strong impression.
The very opening sequence with narration, leading into Civil War earth might be a tad clumsy, but I was with the film from the start. There's a truly epic quality to all of it and most of the effects work is superb. Giacchino's score, in film context, is one of his best efforts, with some bold underscoring contrasting with a main theme that has a vaguely Barry-like vibe.
One gets the impression that there's an overload of this kind of sci-fi/fantasy film that the critics also are unloading on, re-enforced by having to sit through a noisy, hyper trailer for WRATH OF THE TITANS before JOHN CARTER.
(Let the games begin.)
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Posted: |
Mar 10, 2012 - 7:39 AM
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By: |
MikeP
(Member)
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For me, it was a huge, clumsy mess. Plodding where it should have been speedy, action scenes that never really thrilled, a muddled plot , characters that are poorly defined ( the tharks in particular, I could not tell one from the other, which was a huge failing, visually they could have done this easily but didn't ) jokes that fall flat...a movie I wanted so much to love but couldn't.
A few nice moments, Carter slaughtering the critters during his flashback was very well done, a standout moment for me - but so little else stood out.
Lynn Collins was stupefyingly hot - from the beginning she was a show stopper - and the score worked overtime to carry the movie. But the heavy handed direction and script full of jibberjabb that never gelled into a threat , ended up sinking the film.
I do hope if an extended version is released on DVD & BR that it'll correct the issues, help the movie breathe, come to life.
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A few nice moments, Carter slaughtering the critters during his flashback was very well done, a standout moment for me - but so little else stood out.
Such an amazing sequence almost RUINED by the quick edit at the end once John puts the cross in the ground and kneels that doesn't allow the scene to breath and then the music and scene are pushed off for the next beat.
That speedy dog was a trip and I loved him/it !
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hmmm. I didn't analyze any of those moments...just enjoyed the ride. None of those points mentioned so far registered with me.
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Posted: |
Mar 10, 2012 - 8:45 AM
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By: |
Musicman416
(Member)
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Agreed. I thought it was a blast.
With regards to the dialogue, I actually liked it--if they tried to do something like that for a gritty urban thriller, okay, sure. But they were doing an old-fashioned epic, and embracing it across the board. This effect was bolstered nicely by the supporting cast--Ciaran Hinds and Dominic West particularly, with the latter pleasantly reminiscent of Stephen Boyd in Ben-Hur.
I wouldn't have minded some more breathing room--more of a sense of passage of time, and perhaps a bit more time with Carter observing the culture of the Tharks would have been helpful--but it didn't kill it for me.
Not sure what you meant with the editing of the Warhoon fight/flashback. I just thought it was an excellent scene--and, as others have said, a turning point in the emotional engagement of the film.
The score was excellent as well. The scene that is accompanied by "Sab Than Pursues the Princess" was a treat--after hearing it so many times before and loving it, the actual sequence did not disappoint. There's some really nice material missing on the album, unfortunately--particularly the music for the first contact between John and Tars Tarkas--a certain Goldsmithian tone that made me like the already good scene even more.
One thing that has been talked about in interviews is the balance they sought between making Dejah Thoris a strong character while still giving her a vulnerability, and it really came across. Lynn Collins was stunning, and took a well-written character and totally made that balance happen. It gave her nuance and made her more endearing. As Stanton has said, if you fall in love with Dejah, you go with the quest, and they did it for me.
There is a lot to follow, but it's not impossible at all. I'm sure I will get further nuances as I review the film, but nothing in the plotting was fatal by any stretch.
All in all, I loved the film, and by the end, I was ready for the sequel. Won't spoil the ending, but the very conclusion is excellent, and rather lovely.
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How was the cgi??? I´m going to see it in 1½ hr and I am an avid fan of the comic book , but haven´t been impressed by the trailers thou, but always wanted to see a John Carter movie (and I do not count that travesty Princess of Mars *LOL*)
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Posted: |
Mar 10, 2012 - 10:43 AM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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I know some have said that can't keep track of all the names. (Barsoom for Mars and Jansoom for Earth for starters.) Then we have Tharks and Thoats and Banths and.....
Michael Chabon (http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/03/michael-chabon-geeks-guide-galaxy/) felt the same way, working on the script:
And I think again, with all due respect to Edgar Rice Burroughs, who as I’ve already said is one of my great literary gods going back to the age of 11, but he was making it up as he was going along. He was writing by the seat of his pants, he was writing for money, he was writing very quickly, he was being paid half a cent a word. A Princess of Mars was the first thing he ever wrote, ever. He didn’t really know what he was doing yet, as none of us would, as none of us did when we wrote the first thing that we ever wrote.
And clearly he was remarkably gifted, that he was able to do such a good job on the first time out, but he got better. By the time you get to the fifth book, The Chessmen of Mars, that’s actually a really good book, written by an experienced professional writer with a lot of words under his belt. Like any pulp writer of his time, there wasn’t time to go back and ask yourself, “Does it really make sense for all of my characters’ names to begin either with an ‘S’ or a ‘TH’?” No, it’s a terrible idea, it’s really confusing. It was confusing to me as a kid. I had a hard time distinguishing Sarkoja, and Sola, and Tars Tarkas, and Tardos Mors, and Tharks, and Therns, and thoats. I think if Burroughs had had a little more time, or he had an editor who felt the editor had a little more time, they probably would have gone over those things and straightened it out a little bit, and clarified it. We were saddled to a certain degree with things that could not be changed, like the names of the most important characters, for example, but boy did we wish we could change them.
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How was the cgi??? I´m going to see it in 1½ hr and I am an avid fan of the comic book , but haven´t been impressed by the trailers thou, but always wanted to see a John Carter movie (and I do not count that travesty Princess of Mars *LOL*)
I thought the CGI was better than average....about equal to AVATAR. The landscapes & ships etc. look fantastic. The creatures vary....the dog reminded me of old LOCKJAW from the FANTASTIC FOUR "Inhumans" comics.
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Posted: |
Mar 10, 2012 - 1:44 PM
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By: |
Olivier
(Member)
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I saw this last night (3D) and was very pleased and satisfied....I had some misgivings due to a couple of bad mouth reviews but once again it proved to me that if something gets bad reviews it means I'll probably love it. Taylor Kitsch reminded me more than once of Johnny Depp (appearance-wise) . The efx and eye candy are amazing and left me wanting more at the finale. Enjoyed the score (discussed on the other side of the board)...everything about the film was a class act IMO. 5 stars.
I loved it too, and had also read some bad things about it during its making; I am not familiar with the novels, but from the comments I read, I wonder if all teh bad-mouthing wasn't jsut the result of fans / fan reviewers dissing the movie for making such changes as turning "red men"into "white men with red tattoos".
The pictures of Taylor Kitsch worried me a bit in the sense that he looked youngish and not strong enough (personality-wise, I mean); he turned out to be very good, especially due to his voice and his being introduced in a gruffer version of the character.
I had never seen Lynn Collins either; she's divine! Great beautfy and class, wonderful eyes, and I liked her as this character (whose original novel version I am not familiar with, remember).
I agree that at times, especially at the beginning, the exposition was a bit fast-- and many names are not so easy to remember from the start.
It's a really good, very enjoyable, fun science fiction adventure movie.
The music was great.
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I thought it was great as well. Sure it was kinda rushed, but a lot of things worked: the visuals, the actors (thought Kitsch seemed pretty detached to begin with, it was explained in the flashback how he had suffered loss and probably became hardened after that), the story, and yes, Woola the alien dog-like creature. And YES the score. I shed several tears at the flashback. I hope it does really well and we get to see more adventures on Barsoom.
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