JOHN CARTER

Two-time Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton is one of the core group that has made Pixar the powerhouse production company that it is. Both Finding Nemo and Wall-E are very high on my favorite movies list, and Stanton’s TED talk (available on YouTube) is a terrific lesson for storytellers everywhere. With that said, Stanton’s first attempt at live-action is not on the level of his previous work.

John Carter is the story of a US Civil War vet who is transported to Mars, which is in the middle of its own massive conflict. Sab Than (Dominic West) has been given an unbeatable weapon by the mysterious Matai Shang (Mark Strong), and he is using it to conquer the planet. John Carter finds himself captured by the 9-foot tall, four-armed Tharks and their leader Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe). Carter manages to get into the Tharks’ good books by jumping really high, which is an advantage he has from lower gravity and his Earthling bone density.

The questionable science and awkward names are the fault of Edgar Rice Burroughs, but since A Princess of Mars was written in 1917 the story has to be taken with a grain of salt. The problem with adapting this narrative is the massive backstory that is required to tell it, and massive backstory is not easy to do in two hours. Advertising can only do so much, so a significant portion of the movie’s opening act is devoted to explaining the various races and their motivations. Some elements, such as Thark child-raising, are explained in dramatic and sometimes shocking scenes, but others are explained in dry narration.

With a film this big there was obviously some pressure to make it crowd-pleasing and accessable, and in the hands of a lesser director this film would have collapsed under its own weight.  Despite the obstacles, Andrew Stanton still manages to include the wry humor and visual flair that his Pixar features are so good for.

John Carter sags a bit under the pressure to be successful, but it delivers visual spectacle in spades. I wasn’t sold on the post-production 3D conversion, so I will recommend seeing it in 2D unless those extra $3 are begging to be spent. Some massive battles make it clear that Disney wanted their own Avatar, and for better or worse that is what they got.