Just got back from the Midnight Showing of John Carter 3D in the IMAX. I thought it was Pretty Good, Not Great but pretty entertaining, For being 2hrs 32 minutes long it went by quick, The 3D in the IMAX was Pretty good. I give it *** Stars.
I heard some rave reviews a couple weeks ago. One even said it was the "Star Wars" for this generation. Maybe Star Wars I, but not Star Wars IV.
Of course, it is reminiscent of many other things, this being because it was written 100 years ago, and many other things have been influenced by it! It had the cheesy romance aspect of Sinbad movies, but with CGI instead of Harryhausen. Still, the CGI was cool in places. Rotten Tomatoes reviewers had it at 51% positive when I looked it up, and I'd say 51% is about right. There were times I rolled my eyes, and almost yelled out, "Really? Please...." in the theater. There were other times I was somewhat thrilled and enjoyed it. About like one of the lesser Sinbad movies. The coolest character is a 6 legged dog.
Saw it tonight and thought it was GREAT! There were a few moments that reminded me of those old Frazetta book covers!
I enjoyed it far more than I expected to.
The running time is a bit long for smaller children, but there were two boys (around 8-10) with their Dad seated behind me and they were fairly silent and engaged in the film the whole time.
All that said, its still gonna flop.
Here's a good article on why it will flop...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/03/09/ignore-the-critics-john-carter-is-fantastic/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/03/09/ignore-the-critics-john-carter-is-fantastic/)
Reminds me of a lecture on Philip K. Dick I heard. Students couldn't understand the concepts until a student announced, "It all goes back to the Matrix" implying that movie influenced Philip K. Dick.
saw it last night. Liked it but didnt love it. certainly would not care to see it again any tiem soon.
Another interesting review... seems like there's a growing backlash at the critics... http://www.themovieguys.net/2012/03/13/movie-review-john-carter/ (http://www.themovieguys.net/2012/03/13/movie-review-john-carter/)
Adored it! A magnificent fantasy adventure that left me thrilled and elated -- best time I've had at a theater in ages. Will see it again -- own it -- and share it with my kids when they are old enough. Loved every glorious minute of it.
I saw it yesterday and really enjoyed it. It's like a modern version of a Ray Harryhausen/George Pal film. After years of John Carter being off and on I was sitting there watching Burrough's version of Barsoom come to life. That was a real treat for me. The characters and his vision were all present. I enjoyed watching Woola running around. I saw it with a small audience but the crowd semmed to really enjoy and get into the movie.
Dejah is a more active character than she is in the stories. They also added a sub plot which isn't in the novel Princess of Mars. It isn't 100% faithful but the alterations didn't bother me.
This is better than the Asylum version.
One blooper I noticed. When John jumps on the airship deck, the floor visiably bounces. Though that's part of the fun.
Guess I'd better get my hinder to the cinemultiplexarama if I want to see it, since it's already being branded as the biggest flop in cinema history!
I finally saw J.C. last night and I agree with all the previous UMA reviewers. The doggie was awesome..I wanted to take him home. And I felt like it moved quickly and reminded me of a lot of movies that I watch and enjoy regularly :) The guy that played John was very expressive and I liked his performance. The actress that played Dejah reminded me of Tara from Circle of Iron (I don't know why), and I found the CGI to be top notch. I really enjoyed it and hope there are a lot of extras when the dvd comes out.
Never got the chance to see it.
I think it lasted a week here.
This just in, though. The chairman of Disney just quit.
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/disney-studios-chairman-rich-ross-resigns-165049195.html (http://movies.yahoo.com/news/disney-studios-chairman-rich-ross-resigns-165049195.html)
Quote from: Fester on April 20, 2012, 11:34:07 PMThis just in, though. The chairman of Disney just quit.
Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross resigns (http://movies.yahoo.com/news/disney-studios-chairman-rich-ross-resigns-165049195.html)
Release the doves!
Completely new ad campaign for the DVD/BRD release and it could be a homevid hit. Then, we could get sequels!
(http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7049/tas120426.gif)
Cruel, funny, and oh-so true!
Finally rented it tonight. I really enjoyed it!! After finally watching it I thought it got the shaft by critics and I am not sure why. I think Disney should've spent more on marketing/advertising the movie. I kinda hope they make a couple more from Mr. Burroughs collection.
The film was shafted because Pixar director Andrew Stanton directed it. Many of the Pixar directors are going into live action and don't expect the critical love they got in animation to be showered on the live action efforts.
Disny spent a fortune on advertising by the way. It's a shame that it flopped. It wasn't that bad of a movie and few people know the source material like they know Tarzan.
Great movie, with perhaps, the worst marketing campaign in history. In all the advertising, little was done to explain that Carter was on Mars. The Civil War captain angle was not exploited for those who like history and westerns. The romance angle was not exploited for the female crowd. Even the beautiful, scantily clad princess was not exploited to sell tickets!!! My kids watch the Disney Channel and all it's various spin-offs, and this movie was barely promoted there. My son loved it when he finally saw it, and he's 10.
This movie had so much going for it, but all the general public saw was yet another barbarian-type movie set on some possibly alien landscape. It didn't look much different than Wrath of the Tians, Immortals, etc. More of the same. Just calling it "John Carter" with no mention of Mars was also a big no-no.
As someone who works in marketing for a living, I can't believe Disney's marketing arm could screw up this badly.
This fine film deserved much, MUCH better.
Chris