John Carter

Old wine in a new bottle

English (U/A)
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Dominic West
Director: Andrew Stanton

John Carter, a 100-year-old character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, springs to life for the first time on the silver screen, thanks to technological advances in film-making.

The original John Carter novel (1911) has inspired several films, be it “The Planet of the Apes”, “Avatar”, “Superman”, etc, so when Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo, “Wall-E”) debuts with his feature, John Carter stays true to the original.

For science fiction buffs with action, “John Carter” is the film for you.

Kitsch stars as John Carter, a US soldier from the Civil War days who finds himself transported to Mars (Barsoom) and discovers that he has special powers. There are three clashing cultures on Barsoom, the Tharks, the Zodangans and the city of Helium.

Carter realises that if Barsoom is to be saved, it’s in his hands. He predictably teams up with the good Martians, falls in love with a human princess Dejah (Collins) and fights against the bad Martians as he tries to save the Red Planet.

Is there anything new in this story? Obviously not. John Carter has nothing new to offer.  Save yourself some money.