John Carter

Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy // Running Time: 132 minutes // Release Date: March 9, 2012
Cast & Crew at IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401729/

Overall Rating 7 out of 10

Synopsis: A civil war veteran turned treasure hunter ends up being mysteriously transported to Mars after a run in with a strange man in a cave he is exploring. This leads to his capture by a race of 12 foot tall creatures who he wins over with his courage during a battle in which he saves a humanoid woman trying to escape a forced marriage, and the two of them then team up to prevent the potential destruction of Mars.

I feel like because I've know Taylor Kitsch, I am obligated to give his movies a higher rating so that I can feel like I'm helping someone I know become more famous and popular. However, I put those feelings aside and gave the movie it's current rating instead, even though I felt like I wanted to give it at least a 4 or higher. I mean, I really liked this movie, but I could see other people thinking is was more of a "so-so" experience.

The film had a lot of really cool action and they definitely made great use of the lower gravity on Mars to bring some fun and exciting elements to the film. The plot is decent, although highly predictable, and the acting is alright as well. I don't really go to an action movie looking for high quality acting anyways, so I'm never disappointed in that regard. That being said, there were some good actors in this movie - Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong, Dominic West, and Bryan Cranston aside from the main stars Kitsch and Lynn Collins.

 The movie also has some funny moments thrown in to lighten the tension in between the intense chase and battle scenes. I was particularly fond of Carter's "dog" Woola, who reminded me of my own dog, and had me fairly convinced that they were showing you what the Mars version of a pug would be like. However, I will say that my favorite thing about this movie was Lynn Collins. She is a stunningly beautiful woman, and the costumes she wears in this movie definitely highlight that. The fact that she requested that the original designs be modified so that they were a little more risqué is also something I think many people will enjoy.

I saw this in Imax 3D and I definitely didn't feel cheated by paying the extra $$ for the 3D and Imax experience. I'm sure regular 3D or even 2D will probably suffice, as is the case with most 3D movies. But the vastness of the landscape and the backgrounds seemed like it deserved the massive Imax screen, and as I said, I wasn't the least bit disappointed.