John Carter

Fantasy, adventure, action films are what escaping into a movie is all about. We all have problems, issues of the day to deal with, obligations, work, etc. This is all the more reason why films to escape into is so important. The list is plentiful: "Star Wars", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Batman", "Iron Man", "Jurassic Park", "Harry Potter", "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Alien". We can now add to that list in the form of "John Carter".

Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) discovers a lush, incredibly diverse planet mostly inhabited by 12-foot tall green barbarians, headed up by two opposing leaders, Tal Hajus (Thomas Haden Church) and Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe). Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to discover the princess of Helium, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) who is in desparate need of a savior. She is destined to marry Sab Than (Dominic West) or her people will perish. Sab Than has been given power by Matai Shang (Mark Strong), an otherworldly evil being bent on Dejah Thoris' people to be under his thumb and manipulating Sab Than to this end.

Others to round out the cast are Samantha Morton as Sola, daughter of Tal Hajus, Ciaran Hinds as Tardos Mors, James Purejoy as Kantos Kan, Bryan Cranston as Powell, Polly Walker as Sarkoja and Daryl Sabara as Edgar Rice Burroughs as the nephew of John Carter.

This was interestingly directed by Andrew Stanton ("A Bug's Life" '98, "Finding Nemo" '03, "WALL-E" '08). I say interestingly, because here's a guy that's directed only animated films up to this film. But since this is fantasy and adventure, a director who specializes in animated flicks certainly would be just as qualified to direct this genre of film. It was written by Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon based on the story "A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The stunning visual effects were predominantly created by Double Negative, MPC (Moving Picture Company), and Cinesite. They were awesome and seamless, and could deem worthy come Oscar time. And the 3D process just added to those effects.

If you loved the aforementioned fantastical films, you'll love this also. It's a great way to be able to leave your problems at the theater door, and escape into another world, even if it is for a fairly short time.

Out of 4 stars: 3.5                    Rated: PG-13                          132min.