By Thomas Willett
Ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the period of the weekly blog where I throw my hands up in the air and pray for something good to happen. For the most part, the controversy I needed around Salmon Fishing in the Yemen didn’t happen. Even Eddie Murphy let me down by holding zero interest with A Thousand Words. No TV show was risqué enough. Instead I look to a really obvious movie that has captured the zeitgeist. You may have heard of it. Maybe even your grandparents. It’s John Carter..
I don’t think I can ask random strangers the basic premise of John Carter without them stating the obvious. It’s a big budgeted sci-fi movie. But who is the titular character? What are his motives? I would have put myself into that category had it not been for the Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s production of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. It was preceded by a presentation on the planet Mars. For the most part, it was very pro-NASA. However, they dedicated a few moments to talk about Mars-based literature with the notable leads being the H.G. Wells book and this character named John Carter who fought evil on Mars.
He is the type of hero that was created to bring escapist fun to the world. However, what makes him stand-out is that he is probably the first of his kind. Created in 1917 by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Carter was transplanted from Virginia to Mars to fight evil. He first appeared in books that Burroughs wrote, but later progressed into other media, including comics. He is probably the definitive beginning of the outer space adventure stories that have since filled our daily lives.
I haven’t read any of them, but I am sure that the early pieces were reflective of the period: the worldview of the common man, the understanding of space and Mars (including the belief that there were rivers on the planet to sustain life), and the primitive language techniques and twists used to tell stories. It may not seem impressive by today’s standards, but for those appreciative of roots, John Carter is very significant. However, as time progressed, Carter paved the way for Flash Gordon, Star Trek and the Alien movies. These had the fresh and new thing going and they were easily more accessible. Carter was still around, but everyone would rather watch Ellen Ripley save Newt in Aliens. It just looks cooler.
I am not writing this piece to educate you on the history of John Carter. I figured that having some background could help you to better understand his significance in pop culture. Not being that invested in sci-fi, I feel that at best, anything I could say on him would be shady and underdeveloped.
I am here to focus on the movie that’s coming out this Friday. I will start by saying that I was never on board with this particular movie since I saw the teaser in front of Fright Night. Who is Taylor Kitsch and why is he leading a big budgeted movie? My distaste for sci-fi also kept me from even appreciating the visual effects. I am not opposed to movies on a grandeur scale, but I do tend to go more for the low budget, satirical comedy instead. You have to give me a catch. So far, John Carter does not give me a catch.
The main question I have is why they needed to make a movie about this character. What can a modern generation that has improved on his original mythos offer that is new? Since he seems like a simple subject, I cannot see too much based on the trailer. I decided to look at other recent properties and how I felt they translated to a modern day audience.
The two I will focus on are Thor and the Adventures of Tintin. Both have had recent adaptations with varying degrees of success. They were derived from media and have gained enough popularity in their respective fields. Again, let me note that there is little that I know on these subjects and I will mostly be going on overall appeal and how I felt these films worked.
Thor is mostly derived from the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee with Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby in 1962. The actual character ages back to the Roman era. Of recent Marvel Comics-based movies, Thor is probably my favorite, if not because it has some similarities to Superman II, but because I feel that they translated it pretty well to a modern audience. I felt that choosing to have Kenneth Brannagh direct was a strong choice, as it managed to give depth to the characters and eventually make an intriguing plotline of sibling rivalry that effected human civilization. The ability to make Thor vulnerable amongst humans also helped to give a fresh perspective as he had to comprehend everything around him as opposed to just smashing things. The only flaw is probably that it gets a little too hacky with jokes and Natalie Portman’s character regresses to typical superhero girlfriend in the final act.
The Adventures of Tintin derived from the comics created by Herge in 1929. It was an animated movie brought to life by director Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s WETA company. With Spielberg being the master of the blockbuster, he was able to add adventure to the animation. With composer John Williams providing a French tone to the music, it felt very reminiscent of the comics. For the most part the movie made no attempt to modernize the story and instead focused on the adventure. The movie works in spite of these setbacks.
Where will John Carter fall? Will it take a character and place him in the modern world? Will it stick to the roots and be based around the 1917 installment? I’d love for this movie to have some coherency, even though it feels like a bizarre trend of Pixar directors moving into live action. With Brad Bird directing Mission: Impossible 4, this just feels like Andrew Stanton’s go at it. If we were to go based on Pixar achievements, I would say Bird wins, if just because I really like Ratatouille over Stanton’s WALL-E. If anything, I would love to see Pete Doctor’s contribution. He’s my favorite.
My biggest skepticism is that this is a big budgeted movie coming out in March. While Watchmen debunked any rumor that March and blockbusters cannot be good, you do occasionally get a Sucker Punch that restores doubt. We’re in a period where I have seen a handful of movies, and only the Grey stands a chance of me recommending. The blockbuster season technically shouldn’t start until May or June, but it feels like it’s coming early this year. But will they be successful? I have a feeling that John Carter will be a lukewarm hit just like Prince of Persia; a movie that just seems to exist in people’s consciousness.
It will be interesting to see if the new generation takes kindly to John. Maybe it will be the first blockbuster since Inception that I will care to talk about for weeks on end. Maybe, or I will shamefully wait for the Hunger Games in two weeks and pray that my investment in getting a Mockingjay pin one day will not have been in vain. Either way, I’m hoping that an interesting movie comes out soon.
What are your thoughts? Can the origin of modern space adventure stories compete in a market of movies that has improved on the narrative? Will Pixar continue its streak of good directors making good live action movies, or was it just a fluke? Feel free to write me and let’s get a dialogue going. Cannot wait to hear what you have to say, especially if you know more than me.
You can read Thom’s blog every Wednesday and hear him on Nerd’s Eye View every Tuesday and Thursday at nevpodcast.com . Send your thoughts to nevpodcast@gmail.com. You can also read Thom’s movie reviews for Cinema Beach at cinemabeach.com
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