John CarterMovie Reviews

  • Go Based on 1,595 reviews
    Breakdown:
  • Must Go!
    Written March 10, 2012

    Great Sci-Fi Classic

    by NamFam99

    Ignore all the ignorant critic reviews about this movie that complained about how everything seen has already been done before. Remember, instead, that everything we have seen before has only been done because it was inspired by the book this movie is based on. This was a great chance to see on screen the source material for so many of our modern sci-fi classics. Luckily, the movie does not disappoint and does a good job of sticking to its source material. The various alien species are dealt with in a dignified manner (no Jar Jar here), and even the pet dog-ish alien, the one creature my husband and I feared would be childish or campy, was handled in just the right way to be cute and endearing instead of irritating.

    The one warning I will give is to not bother with the 3-D. The director didn't want it, so it really doesn't add anything to the experience and will only irritate you at having paid the money for something entirely unnecessary for your viewing enjoyment.

    • 87 out of 149 found this review helpful.
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    Written March 9, 2012

    John Carter... Original, Adventurous and Fun!

    by Geek Soul Brother

    Imagine INDIANA JONES, but in a rustic Sci-fi adventure. JOHN CARTER is mysteriously transported to Mars, where he meets strange people and creatures, fighting for control of the planet's limited resources. He also meets Dejah Thoris, a beautiful princess whose very life is in danger. The Story was fun and adventurous, with Carter rushing into battles, sword in hand, either to fight for friend or save Princess Thoris. Ancient desert cities, magnificent buildings, unique and beautiful flying vehicles made it a visual joy. The characters were likable, especially considering some were CG. Taylor Kitsch did a nice job playing the 'Fighting Man from Virginia.' Most of the acting and directing were pretty good. The pacing was fast, with only a couple dialog heavy parts to catch up the audience. Most John Carter fans should enjoy it, but if you are new to the story, then you should really enjoy it. PG-13, but good family fun. GeekSoulBrother.com gives John Carter 3.75/5 Cosmic Afros.

    • 92 out of 159 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written March 11, 2012

    Don't give critics the time of day. GREAT MOVIE!

    by

    Saw "John Carter" last night and really enjoyed it. I didn't see it on 3D, but didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. The critics can shut their mouths on this one. One of them picked on the movie as a whole because of how the character looked and his abilities were unimpressive. And you base the worthiness of a movie based on that alone? PLEASE.

    If you love the likes of Star Wars or Avatar or even olden day classics like Neverending Story for its fantasy story-telling and interesting characters, this movie should be right up your alley. It was very funny in plenty of parts, had great visual effects, and convincing acting. Good original story. It has its various flaws like so many other movies, but they were miniscule in comparison to everything that worked. I say formulate your own opinion on this one, folks. See this movie!!

    • 75 out of 130 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written March 10, 2012

    Wow!! Great Movie experience overall

    by latnlvr8

    Well first I want to mention that I sat in a huge theater with only about 20-25 people in it at the midnight showing. I never rate movies because i'm just a sci-fi fanatic and love movies overall. But, in this case I had to say something otherwise This movie won't get the credit it deserves. I don't think it was advertised enough. So the movie has to explain what's going on but does not waste too much time in doing so. Once you get into the meat of it you will be on a long rollercoaster ride and not wanting to get off. It has some funny stuff (won't spoil it here) and has lots of action, and fighting sequences. A little romance, and of course the token villain. Our hero has to be pushed to do what he does not, but in a good way. The scenery although mostly desert like still has grand scope and stunning visuals. The Special effects/CGI did not take away from the movie but added what I thought was alot of real looking characters, building, and crafts. Go you will not ne dissappointed.

    • 75 out of 135 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written March 9, 2012

    Worth seeing! Don't listen to the critics on this one.

    by drewski79

    John Carter was awesome! Highly recommend. Was what Star Wars Ep. 1 could/should have been. Great characters, action, romance, humor, effects. The ad campaign didn't do justice to what the movie is. It is what it's trying to be, a space spaghetti western, not an Academy Award winning drama. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but the stakes still feel high. It's more fun than Avatar and less pretentious. Go see it! It deserves/needs a sequel.

    • 82 out of 150 found this review helpful.
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    Written March 11, 2012

    John Carter

    by Beckmeister

    Now that I have seen this movie I am inspired to read the books. This is a fun movie and kept my interest because of the time period it. I didn't know that such stories were written back in 1910. The story moves a little slow in the middle but it is still worth it. The acting was sharp and overall was a very fun movie. If you like si-fi movies you will love this one.

    • 77 out of 141 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written March 27, 2012

    Who the F is John Carter?

    by

    I remember when I first saw the trailer I was like who the F is John Carter? Unfortunately Disney didn't do much to inform me. So one day I decided to do some google research for myself. Since the movie looked good and I love sci-fi, I was slightly interested. I soon found out that this was actually a 100 year old book series that was written by the same dude that wrote Tarzan. Edgar Rice Burroughs. And most sci-fi films including Star Wars and Avatar are ripoffs of these original stories. The more I learned about it (on my own, no thanks to Disney marketing) the more I was interested to see it. I still hated the title though. I figured if I said it, others would also say; Who the F is John Carter? I finally went to see it, and I just loved it. My favorite stand out performance was Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris. Sexy, smart and strong. I'm really happy I didn't heed negative reviews and went to see it. It inspired me to read the original books (100% FREE by the way on Kindle store).

    • 40 out of 68 found this review helpful.
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  • So-so
    Written March 17, 2012

    Make a movie out of the book, not from retreading Star Wars.

    by Windwounder

    Having read the books as a kid I hate the way they tried to turn this into Star Wars and followed the trend of making every woman a warrior princess. The book is not science fiction it is a sword fighting fantasy epic. There would have been nothing wrong in allowing the love story evolve like it did in the books. Or getting into the real story behind Tars Tarkus' child. But they added the speeder bike chase from Jedi, The Phantom Menace flight chase scene. They added super beings behind all the plots. Turned the white apes into King Kongs. I was waiting for Jar Jar Binks to raise his ugly head. They fell in love with the special effects and not the original spirit of 'A Princess of Mars,"

    What is wrong with building a character based action movie? The could have made something unique. As for the movie they made. It's not bad. The jokes aren't great and the running joke runs out of steam immediately. The 3D worked but is not necessary. Good effects. See the 2D version.

    • 39 out of 67 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written March 10, 2012

    Old Book -New Exiting View

    by sunnyforever

    This original BOOK was published in 1917 by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Because of the writing style of that day and the attempt to modernize this movie, while staying true to the original writing style of the book, I found the movie a little hard to follow in the beginning. It took an adjustment period for me to get the sub plots. (Reading the subtitles, taking in the awesome view, wrapping my head around the action). However, by the time John Carter was speaking "Martian" (because of a surrey potion given to John Carter and great imagination by the audience, he understood them and they understood him) I readjusted and the movie became more understandable. The movie was great. To imagine that Science Fiction was written in the early years with such great imaginings is unbelievable. Thoroughly entertaining family fun. Since it book was a series, can not wait for the next movie.

    • 74 out of 137 found this review helpful.
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    Written March 10, 2012

    John Carter

    by jimcain

    I liked this film because it fills in so many blanks in the innumerable references to these works by Burroughs. Heinlein in particular refers to John Carter and Deja Thoris with Barsoom as a recurring theme. the Actors were fine. The movie is suitable for any age.

    • 78 out of 146 found this review helpful.
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  • Must Go!
    Written March 11, 2012

    John Carter or Princess of Mars

    by permanentlyout

    The movie was very well done with exceptional costumes. The explanation at the start of the movie was a must if you hadn't read the books. I wish they could have incorporated more of the story (how John becomes a Jeddek) while on Mars to explain a few things that didn't have good continuity. The acting of Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris) was terrible! If a sequel ( I hope) is made then please replace her! I cringed every time she spoke. Seriously needs acting lessons some more. I think Andrew Stanton could have done a bit more with her direction. Being a very long movie I know not all of the story could have been told but a lot was left out that would have helped explain several reasons John Carter did what he did for Dejah. This is definitely a movie for the whole family as it is along the lines of Star Wars type films. The cinematography was definitely great but you could tell it is a Disney/ Pixar film. All in all I felt I was right there in the 3D IMAX theatre!

    • 74 out of 139 found this review helpful.
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    Written March 14, 2012

    Worth The Ticket.

    by Chicago_Wingman

    This is an enjoyable movie. Yeah, there are some scenes that seem to drag, and sometimes the logic of the film's stoyline can be quite difficult to follow. But when you have some patience and just go with it, you will not be disappointed. I recommend the 2D version instead of the 3D (save yourself the extra money).

    • 56 out of 104 found this review helpful.
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  • Oh No!
    Written March 25, 2012

    Boring!

    by JMBMB

    John Carter should have remained a book. Not interesting at all.

    Had to keep elbowing my spouse to stay awake.

    I would have liked to have seen another film, such as Safe House, but one of our friends is a Sci-Fi buff, so we agreed to go.

    Skip this very boring movie.

    • 10 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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    Written March 12, 2012

    Entertaining

    by boricuita76

    It reminded of the Original Star Wars in some ways. Overall the movie was great. It could've cut down a little on the romance, but the plot, the scenes, and characters were excellent.

    • 9 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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    Written March 12, 2012

    Vintage Vision hits the Big Screen

    by tinareno

    My Burroughs-fan hubby & I took our 14-yr old daughter (non-3D). WOW! Disney did an exceptional job of adapting a 100-yr old book (actually parts from the first 3 volumes of the series) to produce a well-told, well-acted, nicely-filmed dramatic adventure true to the spirit of the original. Like many tales that emulated his, the fantastical aspects of the story could only be fully realized via modern CG technology, but the effects do not infringe on the vintage texture of Burrough's planetary romance. The film is well-cast and nicely paced (expect to see the leads in future roles); the characters are quite believable while maintaining the simple heroic elegance in the original form of the genre. Especially appealing is the lack of gratuitous material. No gore, sex, nudity or profanity. Some prayer/references to goddess worship. Focuses on determination, sacrifice & self control. For ages 7 and up (early subtitles/plot requires attention). Overall an intelligent engaging movie. See it!

    • 16 out of 26 found this review helpful.
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Exclusive Features

BTS Set Visit: A Day on Mars with John Carter and the Aliens After 80 years of failed attempts, the film adaptation finally comes to life—and we’re there to see it firsthand. Exclusive Cast Interviews Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins talks about being competitive on set, Dominic West and Willem Dafoe discuss the physical nature of acting and Andrew Stanton recounts how he first heard about John Carter. John Carter Movie Guide