Disney's John Carter [DVD]

a desperately under-rated movie, should have been a franchise, and it deserved to be one.

John Carter was ripped to shreds by the critics and it didn't meet its expectations at the box office despite making over a quarter of a billion dollars. It was all over the news that John Carter was the flop of the decade for disney and many critics were merciless in their reviews.But if you've got any sense you won't listen to the critics and you'll ignore the fact that it didn't do as well as people thought at the box office. The reason to ignore all that is John Carter is a brilliant film, definitely in my top ten new films of the past couple of years. It tells the story of John Carter (believe it or not) who was a soldier in the civil war who stumbles across an ancient cave and is transported to mars. What follows is his adventures there as he is caught in the middle of a war for the planet Barsoom (mars).Taylor Kitsch is the eponymous hero and overall he does a decent job, handling both action and the more emotion heavy scenes pretty well. But its Lynn Collins and Willem Dafoe who play the princess and a gangly alien chief respectively, who make the biggest impression. Joining the cast are Ciaran Hinds (Aberforth from Potter) Dominic West (Johnny English Reborn, the Wire) James Purefoy (Solomon Kane)and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes).Andrew Stanton directs and he handles most of the film very well, taking advantage of the wondrous Barsoom landscape with sweeping camera shots and bringing a very epic sense to the whole film. However, his handling of the action heavy scenes is a bit clumsy, though this doesn't really impact enjoyment of the film as a whole. Special note must also be paid to the special effects which are the best i have seen in a film in a long time. The alien races and creatures are so detailed they appear real and the landscapes and cities are magnificently rendered. Also, the battle scenes are gripping, particularly the aerial ones.Overall this is a brilliant film with very minor flaws. There was not a single moment that i was bored in this film, the action is fast, the plot well paced and the characters engaging and well acted. Barsoom looks awesome and the mythology is well planned and sets up ideas and possibilities for (hopefully) future installments. So please consider getting this film, it is filled with rip roaring entertainment for all the family. Action, adventure, humour, monsters... what more could you want.The extra features are poor, a featurette on the Borroughs books that ties in with making the film and a commentary by director Andrew Stanton.

Most people will have heard of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.Most of those people may be able to tell you that he was created by the writer Edgar Rice Burroughs.Most of those may not have heard of Burroughs other great creation - who pre-dates Tarzan - John Carter. Of Mars.That would probably be because whilst Tarzan has had lots of appearance on the big and the small screen down the years, John Carter - despite the original writings being popular back in the day and a popular comic run back in the 1970's - hasn't.John Carter is an American Civil War Veteran, a few years after the end of that conflict. Struggling to find a place in the world in the wake of it, he finds himself teleported to Mars. Long ago. When it a thriving planet of many different kinds of life. Most of whom fight against each other. Some appear human. Some far more alien. There are strange cities and air vehicles. Monsters and conflict. And the chance of romance with beautiful Barsoom women. As the people call the planet.Also, the chance to find a new home.The first John Carter story appeared nigh on one hundred years ago now. And the elements of it - fanastastical escapist adventure with strange creatures on far flung planets - have influenced a lot of science fiction ever since. But now, the character finally gets to the big screen. So here's an actual John Carter movie, rather than one that just draws on the inspiration.This was intended to start a franchise, and thus like all movies which try and do that, it has a lot of exposition to get in. It starts with a scene on Barsoom that establishes who some of the key players are. Then introduces John Carter back on Earth. And then the narrative proper gets going as another character reads a letter from John.It might have been better to start with that rather than the opening two scenes as they throw a lot at you pretty quickly, and thus anyone without a shred of patience is going to possibly struggle to keep going. But just pay attention and you'll be fine. As things do get going from this point on.Barsoom when John gets there is a very convincingly alien world. And there's good science involved as well. Some of the beings there are produced via CGI. And you'll quickly get used to them. They speak in subtitles for a bit but that soon goes. And then the adventure begins.It is not classical movie drama. It is action escapism. Which is what Burroughs wrote. And which is what the movie manages to produce. Those familiar with the source material will find it's faithful enough. There are some changes to the plot and the structure of the story, but that was necessary to make it work on the big screen.Taylor Kitsch makes for a capable hero, and Lynne Collins is superb as his potential love interest, Deejah Thoris, making her an excellent and very strong character.Unfortunately poor marketing [there is a reason though why the movie doesn't have 'of Mars' in the title, but that would be a spoiler to reveal] and bad reviews hurt it's box office performance. One reviewer described the movie's plot as 'difficult to understand.'As Harry Hill would say 'no it's not.'All you have to do is pay attention.The producers of this have done a very good job in getting a classic hero and story to the big screen. It's too bad it looks as if it will be a one off.The disc has the following language and subtitle options:Languges: English/Spanish.Subtitles: English/Spanish/Swedish/Danish/Norwegian/Finnish/Icelandic/Portugese.The disc begins with a couple of trailers but you can skip these via the next button on the dvd remote.The only extras are:An audio commentary from the director and two of the producers.A 'sneak peeks' section that just contains a couple of adverts for disney product.'One hundred years in the making' a ten minute long feature about Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter, and how both have influenced film makers since. This could be a bit brief but it's quite fascinating, tells you a lot about Burroughs, and has a tanatilising glimpse at a planned animated version that never happened. It's well worth a watch.