John Carter (2012)

Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior.

Director:

Andrew Stanton

Writers:

Andrew Stanton (screenplay), Mark Andrews (screenplay),

Stars:

Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Taylor Kitsch	...	John Carter
Lynn Collins	...	Dejah Thoris
Samantha Morton	...	Sola
Willem Dafoe	...	Tars Tarkas
Thomas Haden Church	...	Tal Hajus
Mark Strong	...	Matai Shang
Ciarán Hinds	...	Tardos Mors (as Ciaran Hinds)
Dominic West	...	Sab Than
James Purefoy	...	Kantos Kan
Bryan Cranston	...	Powell
Polly Walker	...	Sarkoja
Daryl Sabara	...	Edgar Rice Burroughs
Arkie Reece	...	Stayman #1 / Helm
Davood Ghadami	...	Stayman #3
Pippa Nixon	...	Lightmaster

Storyline

John Carter, a Civil War veteran who in 1868 was trying to live a normal life, is "asked" by the Army to join. But he refuses so he is locked up. He escapes and is pursued. Eventually they run into some Indians and there's a gunfight. Carter seeks refuge in a cave. While there he encounters someone who is holding some kind of medallion. When Carter touches it, he finds himself in a place where he can leap incredible heights, among other things. He later encounters beings he has never seen before. Later he meets a woman who helps him to discover that he is on Mars. And he learns there's some kind of unrest going on.

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Plot Keywords:

mars | escape | princess | cave | medallion | 

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Taglines:

Lost in Our World. Found in Another.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Princess of Mars

Filming Locations:

Moab, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$30,180,188 (USA) (9 March 2012)

Gross:

$73,058,679 (USA) (22 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This marks the third live-action film under the Disney banner to earn a PG-13 rating in the United States. The first being Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (not counting its sequels as they are of the same film series) and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

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Goofs

When John Carter is transported to Mars the first time, he rolls to the left and is lying between the dead Thern and the cavalry officer. When he transfers back to Earth, there is no sign of the Thern's remains, but the skeleton of the officer is there.

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Quotes

John Carter: John Carter of Earth.
[he tosses the medallion over the balcony]
John Carter: Yep. John Carter of Mars sounds much better.
[Carter turns to go back to Dejah, but a guard stops to him to thank him]
Humble Guard: Sire, I must express the deepest of gratitude for saving Helium. Please, the honor is mine.
[suddenly the guard morphs into Matai Shang]
Matai Shang: Fair enough, Earthman. Now it's your move.
[Matai Shang touches Carter, repeats the command phrase and sends Carter back to earth]

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Crazy Credits

The Disney castle logo at the beginning and end is tinted a deep blood red.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Ghosts of Mars (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Kings and Queens"
Written by Jared Leto
Performed by 30 Seconds to Mars
Produced by Steve Lillywhite & 30 Seconds to Mars

User Reviews

John Carter: Stunningly Effective

Hearing about this Disney film's story sparked my interest in seeing this right away! I finally did and overall, the characters, the setting, and the plot flowed seamlessly well together! It's like Disney's formula of "Star Wars" and "Avatar" meets "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time."

So, the plot revolves around a Civil War veteran who is somehow transported to Barsoom (aka Mars), where he must help a princess and a colony succeed in a heated battle against another feuding colony.

Director Andrew Stanton delivered well in this epic take of John Carter. Sure, star Taylor Kitsch seems like he's trying a little too hard as the lead guy, but it looks like he's heading toward the same path left behind by Jake Gyllenhaal for "Prince of Persia": serious character figure, yet sometimes able to show unintentional humor usually without noticing. Though not bad on either one's part!

Since John Carter was conceived as a story back in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burroughs (of Tarzan fame), I have to say that this movie is certainly NOT a rip-off. A film like this deserves more credit than initially given! Epic action/adventure films like "Star Wars" and "Avatar" wouldn't exist today without these early roots! It pretty much sparked an influence on the sci-fi, action, adventure genre films that most audiences came to know decades later.

It looks like Stanton's following exactly what his fellow Pixar colleague Brad Bird had done with Tom Cruise in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," stepping up as director for once in live-action! Not bad for their first time.