John CarterMovie Reviews

So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 51 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Against the odds, John Carter is itself pretty amazing - an epic pulp saga that slowly rises to the level of its best imitations and wins you over by degrees. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy

    Director Andrew Stanton's Disney extravaganza is a rather charming pastiche. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    John Carter bites off more than even Woola can chew, but it's built on something rare: wonder instead of Hollywood cynicism. Read full review

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    That's kind of the aesthetic that Stanton is going for: over-the-top pulp. But there's something generic about the digitally rendered Martians, and there's a corniness to the dialogue that keeps the audience from any kind of emotional attachment to the Tharks and Zodangans and their ilk. Read full review

  • 60
    New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier

    What director Andrew Stanton has brought forth from Burroughs' limited, hoary source material is actually kind of fun. Read full review

  • 55
    NPR | Ian Buckwalter

    When Stanton lets the film be pure popcorn entertainment, with swashbuckling set pieces and lovably corny romanticism, it's a great ride in the Indiana Jones tradition. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Though the project, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel "A Princess of Mars," is ambitious, it's also bloated, dreary and humorless. Read full review

  • 40
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    This new Disney film, marked by myriad lapses and marketing follies, bears the woefully familiar earmarks of a big studio production that was pulled and hauled every which way until it lost all shape and flavor. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    The opening to John Carter is a dud, a battle between airships made of woven bamboo, bursting into computer-generated flame over a sandy terrain. There's nothing to see, nothing to think about, nothing to care about, and nothing to feel, just emptiness. The emptiness is never filled over the course of 132 long, barren minutes. Read full review

  • 25
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Nothing in John Carter really works, since everything in the movie has been done so many times before, and so much better. Read full review

View more reviews for John Carter on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Mars-based action epic has strong fantasy violence.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that John Carter is a swashbuckling inter-planetary adventure based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' first book in the John Carter series, A Princess of Mars. There's an underlying romance to most of the story, but it's the movie's violence that might alarm parents of younger tweens. It's prevalent throughout the film and gets gory in a couple of scenes -- like when John (played by Taylor Kitsch) bursts through the body of a giant Martian monster he's just killed or decapitates a tyrannous warlord. Despite John Carter's war-like violence, none of the "good guys" die (although they're shot at, injured, and even tortured). Plus, there are a couple of strong female characters, and an overriding message that there's a particular honor to being selfless, even if it puts your own life in danger.
  • Families can talk about the hero's journey -- how does John Carter grow to accept that his destiny is on Mars? What makes him eventually feel at home in Barsoom? What other swashbuckling heroes is he like?
  • Some say that John Carter relies too heavily on elements from other movie franchises. What portions of the story remind you of other sci-fi tales? What parts make it unique? And is it fair to make those claims when the stories that inspired John Carter predate the movies?
  • Does the movie make you interested in checking out the books it's based on? Do you think the ending sets up the movie for a sequel?
The good stuff
  • message true3 Positive messages: The battle to save Barsoom rests on an unlikely alliance between Earth man John Carter, Martian princess Dejah Thoris, and a band of nomadic green "barbarians" called the Tharks. Through their eventual teamwork to fight a common enemy, they successfully stop the nefarious Therns from destroying Mars. By the end of the movie, characters who act selflessly are rewarded with honor and respect they deserve.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: John Carter learns to stop being selfish and do something to help others. Dejah Thoris is a powerful female character who knows how to defend herself and to inspire John Carter to see beyond his own survival. Sola (another stand-out female character) and Tars Tarkas realize the possibility of leading the Tharks into an alliance with the people of Helium.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Heavy sci-fi violence includes some frightening battle scenes, a weapon that turns anything or one in its path to dust, and a shape-changing villain who plans to destroy an entire planet. There's a Gladiator-style battle to the death in an arena where huge ape-like monsters are killed and another character is decapitated. Sola is branded and tortured and eventually sentenced to death by her own people. Tars Tarkas is injured and expected to die in the arena. John Carter is nearly killed several times. A horrifying flashback shows how John Carter's wife and child died in a fire in their home; he finds their charred remains. An early gun battle injures a U.S. officer. A long-dead character's skeleton is shown. A group of unhatched eggs is mercilessly crushed. All sorts of weapons -- from guns to spears, knives, and swords -- are used in battle.
  • sex false2 Sexy stuff: Lots of longing looks, gazes, and touches between John Carter and Dejah Thoris, which eventually lead to a couple of kisses and the aftermath of a love scene (she's in bed with the sheet covering her all the way, and he's standing outside on a balcony). Other scenes show her in skimpy apparel.
  • language false2 Language: Language includes "hell," "damn," "goddamn," and "stupid."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Before he's transported to Mars, John Carter is shown drinking and enters a saloon where everyone has a drink in hand.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

4.0

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

The first great summer movie of March. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Read more movie reviews at Movies.com

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