Film Review | John Carter

It is perhaps not surprising that the man who gave us Tarzan knew how to tell a cracking good story.

But although the American adventure writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) remains an enduring influence of pop culture to this day, his Mars-bound adventurer John Carter is hardly a household name.

This, despite the fact that the myriad books and short stories starring the reluctant Confederate-era planet hopper have influenced some of the world's favourite space operas: from Star Wars all the way to Avatar.

But in Wall-E director Andrew Stanton's adaptation of Burroughs's A Princess of Mars - marking the character's centenary - the author is placed straight into the story - as John Carter's nephew. Played by Daryl Sabara, 'Ned' Burroughs arrives to his uncle's funeral to discover that his body has been placed into a mausoleum that can only be opened from inside.

Though he knows his uncle was a noteworthy character - Carter went from being a soldier in the Confederate army, to an eccentric traveller-scholar - it is only when he gets his hands on the dead man's journal that the real adventure begins.

The journal tells of an unexpected journey to Mars - when Carter was made into a reluctant hero in a planetary civil war.

After he accidentally beams to Mars (though the red planet is called 'Barsoom' by the locals), Carter finds a kindred spirit in Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), princess of the compromised region of Helium.

While Dejah's father Tardos (Ciarán Hinds) hopes to create a truce by marrying off Dejah to rival warlord Sab Than of Zodanga (Dominic West), the headstrong princess has other ideas.

And when Carter emerges from the savage (but occasionally noble) nest of the green-skinned Thrak, all hell breaks loose.

It is to Stanton's credit that he didn't shy away from the intricate alien squabbles that sometimes border on the incomprehensible. It is also admirable that he plays the entire thing straight - despite the barrage of silly names, sillier costumes and a plot that's unashamedly driven by an American jingoism from a bygone era.

But this very same earnestness is also probably why Disney's John Carter is set to be one of the greatest box office flops of all time. The $250 million production has barely made half its budget back home, and it just might break even thanks to international ticket sales.

Which is a shame, because despite being a tad long and packed with details that only sci-fi/fantasy fans will truly appreciate, Stanton captures the 'boy's own' spirit of Burroughs, creating a rich world that's easy to get lost in, with a hero that's worth rooting for.

Though some of the casting choices were unnecessarily lavish (and downright silly in retrospect, considering how badly the film did) - Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston appears for little more than five minutes, while Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church and Samantha Morton only provide voices for their Thrak avatars - casting relative unknown Taylor Kitsch in the lead role was an inspired choice.

Kitsch - who was the only good thing in that other sci-fi flop, X-Men Origins: Wolverine - strikes the perfect balance between rippling and roguish.

Paired with the CGI lizard-dog Woola, Kitsch's Carter is an instantly likeable hero. 

Stanton's experience at Pixar makes him a deft hand at not only creating a convincing fantasy world, but at populating them with characters we can care for. Carter's pain at losing his family is inserted in key moments, and it emphasises our hero's humanity. But it is the perfectly-timed humour that will distinguish John Carter from Avatar and its ilk - it's proof that there's some humanity amidst all the digital spectacle.

Mark Strong's shape shifting cleric Matai Shang also throws in an element of political intrigue (one is reminded of Franco Debono's 'hidden hand' digs at Richard Cachia Caruana), that show Stanton deepening the pulpy story into something more interesting.

In this age of austerity, perhaps it's downright preposterous to call for the rescue of multi-million dollar Disney film, whose box office failure will not affect the studio in the long run.

But it would be a shame if Carter's cinematic foray did not develop into a trilogy, as was originally planned. Judging by this first instalment, Stanton can tell the kind of story that we all take for granted but don't see all that much of anymore.