Movie Review
The movie John Carter was supposed to be based on A Princess of Mars. I don't know how exactly they claim that. It's the loosest of loosely based basings I've ever seen. They took the characters from Princess and some of the story elements and then a few elements from the second book of the Barsoom series, The Gods of Mars, and the Thern characters and made them into the antagonists. It wasn't even close to being the story in A Princess of Mars. And it helps to have read the first two books so you at least have some kind of clue as to what is going on.
One of the main criticisms that I heard about this movie was that in the books the characters were naked for the most part and in the movie they wear clothes. Well, I don't have too much of an issue with that. It is, after all, a Disney movie and PG rated if I recall correctly, and I don't think having all the characters naked would be conducive to a kid's movie. Anyway, the armor and weaponry weren't too bad. I thought the swords were pretty cool, too.
One thing that I liked was that they made Dejah Thoris a bit tougher and a scientist instead of just Princess Eye Candy. In the books, she's like the helpless princess in the Super Mario games. Every time the hero beats his way through enemies to rescue her, she's then whisked away and the hero has to fight through another level, and on and on.
Just as an aside, I started The Gods of Mars last night because I had read a review of the movie somewhere that mentioned that the movie took some elements from that book and I wanted to get a heads up. I ended up getting through 11 chapters(before the movie started), but it was like I described before of it being like Super Mario. It really was like reading a description of some platform video game, just level up, level up, level up. I got tired of it after a while and skipped to the last chapter which ended in yet another cliff hanger. :::facepalm:::
This book reminded me of early comic books and had the feel of old school Star Trek or Flash Gordon. It was definitely written to appeal to adolescent boys. The action was all a bit over the top for me to the point of it being unrealistic. Yeah, I know it's a story about different societies on Mars and is far fetched to begin with, but I can suspend reality if the story is good, but it gets old after a while with the whole Mario/platform feel of it. I mean, come on already! Can't John just rescue Dejah and they have a good shag and spend some time together before the next kidnapping/conflict/fight scene? A Princess of Mars was a better book, IMO.
Anyway, back to the movie. It actually wasn't *that* bad. It was a bit confusing and felt rushed about a third of the way through. And the romantic connection between John and Dejah just felt forced and unnatural. It wasn't at all like the book. They were trying to cram too much into a two hour movie. It did look good visually and I liked the steampunk feel of the flying machines and guns. I also thought they did a good job on what Woola looked like. I my opinion, they should have stuck closer to the story of A Princess of Mars because that was a pretty good story in my opinion and would have made a decent movie.
So my verdict: Not the worst movie but not great. It was just okay for me but the visuals weren't too bad. If you see it, it's not a total waste of time.
posted by Xul at 4:14 PM
12 Comments:
It's the loosest of loosely based basings I've ever seen.
:D
just level up, level up, level up.
Wasn't that book written as a bunch of episodes in a magazine? I guess it would make (financial) sense to have cliffhanger after cliffhanger just to keep people buying the next issue.
Good review BTW :)
Wasn't that book written as a bunch of episodes in a magazine?
Yeah, Burroughs had the idea, much like myself, that if 'any old crap' can get published, then he should try writing his own crap and get it published. They published it in installments. Reading it as installments probably wasn't so bad, but all together in a book form gets to be a little much.
And this stuff was written a hundred years ago and only fetched a few hundred bucks as payment. It's not too bad for as old as it is.
Good review BTW :)
Thanks!
It's not too bad for as old as it is.
The old stuff isn't necessarily bad. Many of the Sherlock Holmes stories were written in the 19th century. There are even 19th century science fiction stories (which are better than I expected them to be).
The weather service tells me it's warm and wet where you live. The sky is abound with thunderstorms. Time to crawl back into a warm bed with some hot cocoa and read an exciting book or watch a movie. Maybe listen to some music?
I've been watching some movies myself. 1. Resident Evil:retribution, not really worth my time, 2. Red Light, which features a number of renowned actors and has a decent plot which however did feel a bit forced.
So what have you been up to on this cloud covered Tuesday?
It's Red Lights, I forgot the 's' :(
So what have you been up to on this cloud covered Tuesday?
My mother had her 3 week follow up with the eye doctor, so I was busy with that until now. I was going to come home and raise hell with the phone company because the line was full of static and the internet was all fucked up, but just before I left the house to go to the doc appt., some nuisance call came through, then when the answering machine picked up the line sounded clear. I pick up the phone after that and the line was clear. Now that I'm back home, the phone line is still clear and the internet is working. So the bastards have a reprieve from the hell that I was going to unleash upon them...for now. }:-]>
The sky is abound with thunderstorms.
There was a great downpour last night, which evidently screwed up all the phones and internet service. Right now it's partly cloudy but not raining. It's cloudy enough that it's not too hot ATM. :)
Time to crawl back into a warm bed with some hot cocoa
It's iced tea with lime, actually! :D
The old stuff isn't necessarily bad.
I like the old stuff, especially the Lovecraft. Some of those guys were prophets(like H.G. Wells)in predicting what technology would be in the future. And the turn of the 20th century writing and vocabulary is superior to modern writing IMO. Linguistic entropy at work, it seems. ;P
I watched Warhorse the other night. I have no idea why peeps carry on about that being such a good movie. I thought it was quite dull and far fetched just like most Spielberg movies. I think if Spielberg filmed himself taking a dump the critics would think it was the greatest masterpiece of all time. He's overrated, IMO.
I was scanning through the satellite's channel guide and I see that Prometheus has made it to the movie channels. It says that Noomi Rapace is in it. I'll have to give it a look once it's on one of the channels that I get. I liked her in the original Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies.
How's things on your side of the big puddle? Is the weather still holding up nicely?
It's iced tea with lime, actually! :D
Also nice. And more logical considering the temperature, I guess :)
I watched Warhorse the other night.
Doesn't that have Benedict Cumberbatch in it? (from Sherlock)
Prometheus has made it to the movie channels.
If you do get to watch it, try to go in without any expectations (and leave part of your brain on non-active :D ).
I liked her in the original Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies.
Yeah, me too. I actually prefer the Swedish version. Swedish(/Norwegian/Danish/Icelandic) detectives tend to be quite good IMHO.
Is the weather still holding up nicely?
Not really. The weather in this country is as changeable as ever. It's actually predictably changeable if you ask me. ;P
Ugh. I feel exhausted. Sunday was a busy day for me. I gave my hair a trim and restored it to its natural color, read 12 chapters of The Gods of Mars, and stayed up late with my eyes burning from reading so much on a computer screen to watch John Carter so that I could do a review for a blog post. :)
Monday, I think I spent most of the day washing dishes because my mother seems to have the ability to use every dish in the house throughout the day and then pull the 'helpless old lady' card and ask me to do the dishes, which she immediately messes up again, then I have to clean up. I think she does it deliberately sometimes. Then I had to trim some plumbago hedges because all the rain has them growing like Jack's bean stalk.
Tuesday, I had to repair the toilet seat in my mother's bathroom because she is always managing to break the thing. I've never seen someone go through toilet seats like her. I reinforced the seat with some long screws so I have no idea how long that will last.
After that, I had to take her to her follow-up with the eye doc, then after that to Wally's so she could get a pair of reading glasses. She managed to strike up a conversation with a lady there and begin to disparage me to the lady. I don't think the lady was buying what my mother was trying to sell but was listening politely. This could go on for hours, so I just walked away and went and did the shopping that needed to be done. When I came back, my mother was *STILL* chewing that poor woman's ear off. The lady finally excused herself and then I managed to get my mother to follow me to the check out.(She ended up not getting any glasses even after all that.)
Last night, a miracle occurred and my mother went to bed kinda early, so I had an opportunity to do some stretching exercises and a little Pilates and yoga poses after my weights workout. That got me pretty relaxed and I slept well.
Now I'm laying around all day because it's rainy outside and I'm worn out from the last 3 days. :/
Doesn't that have Benedict Cumberbatch in it? (from Sherlock)
Don't know. I never watched Sherlock.
try to go in without any expectations
It's been a while since I've read any reviews. I get free HBO and such for a weekend in June so I'll try to go all zen before I watch it. ;P
I actually prefer the Swedish version.
I liked both versions. It's like with Let The Right One In--both good in their own rights. Those Skandis are a gloomy lot, though. ;P
The weather in this country is as changeable as ever.
So no more scenery pics for a while? When do I get a recent pic of your hikikomori cyberpunk puss? ;P (Where's poor Petrichor to decipher that bit of Xul-slang?)
Don't know. I never watched Sherlock.
Ah, right, I forgot. He's in the new Star Trek movie too ...which you also haven't seen.. damn. Oh, well, he was in War Horse.
So no more scenery pics for a while?
I can't guarantee it but if you want more I'll do my best. What about you? Care to take some pics?
When do I get a recent pic of your hikikomori cyberpunk puss?
Well, if you really want a photograph of that ugly mug of mine then I suppose I could oblige. I'll need a mirror... and the lighting in this house is absolutely atrocious... I did get a haircut today... Hm...
Care to take some pics?
Yesterday when taking the old woman to her appt., we had to pass by Denmark's which is a place that sells ornamental statuary for gardens and such. It's been there for decades. The place was all overgrown with weeds and looked abandoned even though all their inventory was still there. There was a sign on the fence that said they were open, though. Now to the point...for as long as I can remember, they have had these huge(like 5 meters at least) satanic-looking statues out front. My sister told me they were created by a very eccentric artist named Van De Gaard(not sure if that's the correct spelling). There is another place in Hollywood that is now a car lot that has some of his statues still in front. They are creepy looking and they always creeped me out as a kid. I wanted desperately to get a pic of them for you, but I had the old lady with me so...
That reminds me of a story my sister told me about the artist's house...LOL That would make a good post, actually!
I don't know of anything go to take a pic of around here. It's all very depressing. :(
ugly mug of mine
Nay! Bite thy tongue, Lord Arekino! For yours is a goodly mug and quite pleasing! ;)
^ That should read, "I don't know of anything *good* to take a pic of around here." Damn lot of typos lately. Grrrr...
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