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

Probably holds the record for having the longest period of "development hell" for any movie, at 79 years. Preproduction for a film version first started in 1931, when Robert Clampett (director of 'Looney Tunes') approached author Edgar Rice Burroughs to make an animated feature out of the first book in the series, "A Princess of Mars" (the same story that this film is an adaptation of). Had plans gone through, 'John Carter' could have become America's first animated feature, beating Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The film finally left development hell in January 2010 when filming officially started in London.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the movie, it is mentioned that Carter, a former Confederate soldier, was "decorated six times, including the Southern Cross of Honor." In fact, the Confederacy issued no medals and only added a few names to a "Roll of Honor." The Southern Cross of Honor did not exist until the late 1890s when the United Daughters of the Confederacy began giving it to veterans. So, in reality, it would've been impossible for Carter to have been "decorated six times" and receive the Southern Cross of Honor.

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Quotes

Matai Shang: [during the battle between Helium and Zodanga, Sab Than's ship gets attacked by a mysterious blue light in the sky, Sab Than notices three figures floating towards him, one of the men, Matai Shang, gives Sab Than a blue arm band which is a special weapon, Sab Than immediately uses this to kill Matai Shang but Shang quickly deflects the attack] Being a fool is a great luxury, Sab Than. Get up.
Sab Than: [slowly gets up] What are you?
Matai Shang: We serve the Goddess, and she has chosen you to receive this weapon. Do as...

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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

Really enjoyed it

I did only have modest expectations of this film as the trailer reminded me a bit to much of Dune. Really surprised to find a film which had a good plot line (albeit cynics will liken it to Avatar-lite), well acted, reasonable characterisations, brilliant visuals and a surprisingly good hero figure in Taylor Kitsch. I saw the preview screening this morning - don't really care how much it cost to make - what I found was a big budget film that I really enjoyed from start to finish. My advice - don't follow the cynics and naysayers - see it for yourself. I will normally not go see 3D films (they give me a headache) but the 3D wasn't too intrusive on this one.