John Carter

Today I took my kids to see Disney's John Carter and I'd like to share some random thoughts and impressions I got after watching this movie.

How did Edgar Rice Burroughs (the author of the Tarzan story who was born in 1875) come up with a movie about Mars, space travel, flying ships, etc?

This movie reminded me of Star Wars for several reasons. The obnoxious alien dog looked like Jabba the Hutt, yet could move at supersonic speed. The desert terrain and creatures totally reminded me of certain scenes in Attack of the Clones.

I had a hard time with all the extreme jumping. When John Carter was transported to Mars, did he turn into a flea?

Mark Strong had a good performance as one of the mysterious alien guys who are trying to control the rival inhabitants of Mars. I'm guessing he's fine with being typecast as a bad guy these days.

My younger kids got bored and asked when it would be over. That's not a good sign at a Disney movie full of action and special effects.

I don't really like it when actors lend their voice to animation or CG movies. I think they should only get half the credit for being in the movie if there is no resemblance to the character they are voicing.

This movie juxtaposed different worlds and times against each other kind of like Cowboys and Aliens. It was only about as good as that movie too.

John Carter contained elements of Avatar, Star Wars, Prince of Persia, Cowboys and Aliens, and The Adjustment Bureau. It was a complicated movie with lots of foreign names but I still give it 6.4 stars sinceI liked seeing Gambit fall in love with Wolverine's girlfriend on another planet.