The Sword and Laser discussion

Saw the movie yesterday with my 7 year old son(he loved it) and it was very cool. There were distinctions between the book and film, which I appreciated. A slavish adaptation usually suffers, different form of media needs different storytelling. If you liked the book, or are interested in some SF action, don't let the negative reports dissuade you. My expectations were not high and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Will buy the DVD later. Visually, it was sweet- cool effects.

Didn't see it in 3D, by the way- I don't care much for 3D.

3D feels like such a gimic. I loved Avatar and still feel that way about 3D. Saw the last Harry Potter film in 3D and for the one or two scenes that were a little bit cooler in 3D the extra cost was not worth it. Not to mention I HATE wearing the glasses. I spent half of any movie scratching my nose because of the glasses.

Planning to see it soon, waiting for it in Non-3D at my theatre.

I saw it on Sunday at the only 2D showing. Nothing I saw would make 3D enhance the movie. I do have to say it also did not attempt to over-do your 3D experience by having scenes solely to make the 3D apparent.

Over all it's a great "B" movie. Not bad, but uneven in talent and pacing. It's a short movie, only feels longer. A tighter editing job would have made it better. That and if only they had given a wink and a nod to Taras Bulba when the Tharks ride to battle. I imagine this scene only with mounted Tharks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8G6S6...

Overall - one thumb up (Out of two).

I didn't get to see the movie this weekend but I did catch 'Princess of Mars' on the SciFi channel on Sunday, starring Antonio Sabato Jr. as John Carter and Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris. OMG this movie is so bad I couldn't tear myself away from the TV.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531911/

AndrewP wrote: "I didn't get to see the movie this weekend but I did catch 'Princess of Mars' on the SciFi channel on Sunday, starring Antonio Sabato Jr. as John Carter and Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris. OMG this mo..."

Seriously might have to check this out now!!!!!

Saw John Carter on Friday and LOVED IT! I actually recently picked up Princess of Mars on a free shelf at my local library because I saw it was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs and I am a big fan of the Tarzan novels. I didn't actually know Burroughs wrote a sci-fi series before Tarzan. Anyway, so I read Princess of Mars, and was absolutely DREADING this movie! I mean I thought it was going to really suck! But I LOVEEDD IT! Please see it people so they will make more!

Philip wrote: "Saw the movie yesterday with my 7 year old son(he loved it) and it was very cool. There were distinctions between the book and film, which I appreciated. A slavish adaptation usually suffers, diffe..."

I loved it! Recently read it the book, and loved this movie!

I just recently read A Princess of Mars, and I was worried about how the movie was going to turn out. I thought it was good - I wasn't super impressed with it, but I wasn't too disappointed in it either.

I haven't read further then A Princess of Mars, so I'm curious to read more in the series and find out how the Thern storyline from the book fits into the movie.

AndrewP wrote: "I didn't get to see the movie this weekend but I did catch 'Princess of Mars' on the SciFi channel on Sunday, starring Antonio Sabato Jr. as John Carter and Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris. OMG this mo..."

I just added this to my Netflix Queue. lol

AndrewP wrote: "I didn't get to see the movie this weekend but I did catch 'Princess of Mars' on the SciFi channel on Sunday, starring Antonio Sabato Jr. as John Carter and Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris. OMG this mo..."

It is an experience not to be repeated.

Not really planning on seeing it, but that's mostly because I really don't go to the movies very often. I've found I rarely have the patience for them.

I think I read somewhere that Disney expects to lose $165 million on the movie. Seems like a lot to me...

My family and I (wife, teenager and 11 yr old) saw this day and we all loved it. I was the only one who read the book. We did not see it in 3D.

Graeme wrote: "It's a short movie, only feels longer. A tighter editing job would have made it better. ..."

It was 2 hours and 19 mins. It's not a short movie. But I do agree with you, there are scenes that feel slow, better editing would have solved that. But the book feels slow in places too.

Philip wrote: "Saw the movie yesterday with my 7 year old son(he loved it) and it was very cool. There were distinctions between the book and film, which I appreciated. A slavish adaptation usually suffers, diffe..."
Saw it on Friday and I agree, wasn't expecting much but was hoping it would be good. I thought it was good . I'm in the middle of the the first book right now but it feels pretty much the same so far. I saw it in 3D and didn't really notice it was in 3D so at least it wasn't a silly use. Probably not necessary or worth the extra money for 3D.

this was a mix of a couple of books the special affects were fantastic the biggest change from the original stories was his relationship with woman. The original pretty much had the 19th century attitude of women as chattel when they married he became her lord and master. When he took her away from the green men he "wone" her. Women today won't take this attitude well so when he tells her he will protect her she says she will protect him.

Many of(if not all) Edgar Rice Burroughs' books are public domain and available as free e-books in the Kindle store as well as other places. http://amzn.to/ypP2X1

Michael Chabon worked on the screenplay and appeared on a recent episode of the Geek's Guide To The Galaxy podcast and discussed the book and movie: http://bit.ly/w54xwf

Glad to see other S&L folks liked it!

David wrote: " When he took her away from the green men he "wone" her. Women today won't take this attitude well"

So you're saying that I should not have knocked my wife out and carried her off to a treehouse right after the wedding ceremony? Now I know what she has been so pissed off about these last 8 years or so. I can't believe I'm just learning this now! :)

I really loved it. It was a blast. Fun and thrilling. Way better than most summer blockbusters. The fact that the Transformers movies make a boatload of cash, but John Carter is struggling to find an audience makes me sad.

Solid acting all around. I recognized a couple acting veterans from the HBO series Rome, and leads Taylor Kitsch (as Tim Riggins... um, I mean John Carter) and Lynn Collins (as Dejah Thoris) carried the film nicely.

How cool that Michael Chabon contributed to the screenplay! He's one of my favorite authors, and his screenplay for Spider-Man 2 is still the benchmark of the superhero movie genre.

If you have clear eyes and a full heart, you can't lose by seeing John Carter.

Hi, new here ... thought John Carter was very cool. Didn't recognize a couple plot points but on the whole it was well done, even the CGI.

Just saw John Carter and I must say, I was worried that it would be a bust because of the way it was targeted with negative responses long before it came out. Of course, I loved the books (the Barsoon Series) as a boy (in the 60’s) and so I have waited many long years for this book to become a movie.

I decided not to judge the movie based on my own personal opinion but decided to pole people as they came out of the movie. Everyone seem to love it, some said it was great or it was fun and a few expressed the hope for a sequel except for one little old lady who hit me with her umbrella for harassing everyone. So the official verdict is in from the people…John Carter is a great movie that was fun to watch, awesome in its scope and most everyone is looking for a sequel.

My opinion is simple. This is a great movie that had Frazetta like scenes which enthralled me. The beginning and some of the flash backs could have been handled better with editing but once on Barsoon, I saw nothing that wasn’t a great ride. Final note… Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins were as close as I could hope John Carter and Dejah Thoris to be in a film version of the book and both of them truly carry the movie. Bravo

I just took my 9 year old daughter to see it today, and we loved it! I just started reading the books, so I had an idea of what it might be like going in.

I thought it was great fun and I'll buy the dvd when it comes out for sure. :)

I want a Thark baby.

I read all the books as a teen at least twice. I used to spend my afternoons in math class drawing tharks or flyers. Keep in mind, besides Star Wars, sci-fi fans in the mid 80's didn't have many decent outlets to turn to.

I really wanted this movie to work. I've been looking forward to it for years. So when I watched it, I had so many pre-conceived notions about what to expect between the source material, the commercials (which do a horrible disservice to the film), and Andreew Stanton's track record, that I must say I came out a little disappointed.

HOWEVER

I went with a different group to see it a second time, and knowing what to expect and could really sit back and enjoy it, I was quite pleased to find that a second viewing made me absolutely fall in love with the movie. Interestingly enough Taylor Kitch said the exact same thing in an interview.

I believe there are just some movies that get better with multiple viewings, and this is definitely one of them. Oh, and read the books after you watch, not before. ;o)

Orlando wrote: "...decided to pole people as they came out of the movie..."

Ouch!

Seriously, I knew nothing about the books when I saw the first preview. I read the first book, loved it, now I am happy to see that true fantasy fans (not critics) seem to have enjoyed the movie. I'm pumped to see it!

I read the first book a few months ago, and knowing what to expect, really dug the movie!

Can I officially ask the OP of this thread to edit the title to John Carter of *CENSORED*.

Its ridiculous they changed the title because they thought it would put people off, and the film's slumped anyway.

Silly Disney. :P

I actually went to see it in 3D (and IMAX) last weekend and thought that did enhance some of the more elaborate action scenes. On the whole it's a decent B-movie. I don't know why Disney spent over $250M on the whole thing - that really seems like overkill (in hindsight, I know).

Micah wrote: "David wrote: " When he took her away from the green men he "wone" her. Women today won't take this attitude well"

So you're saying that I should not have knocked my wife out and carried her off to..."

Wait, you have a treehouse? And your wife still married you? lucky

Heather wrote:"Wait, you have a treehouse? And your wife still married you? lucky "

Actually it was one of the reasons she did...or maybe the only one. Didn't have money so that had to be it.


Right?

they also started marketing it way too early

The movie went beyond my expectation of great. I totally loved every minute of it. I will be going back to read the series. I highly recommend it.

I haven't had a chance to see it yet but I'm looking forward to catching it when it's not in 3D.

For those who've seen it, do they have Sola in the movie?

Tina wrote: "I haven't had a chance to see it yet but I'm looking forward to catching it when it's not in 3D.

For those who've seen it, do they have Sola in the movie?"

yes, major character.

Googie wrote: "The movie went beyond my expectation of great. I totally loved every minute of it. I will be going back to read the series. I highly recommend it."

Saw it with my roommate a few days ago (not in 3D). It was good. Not great, but definitely better than the marketing campaign led everyone to believe.
That said, definitely adding at least the first book to my summer list. Very interested in seeing where the story goes.

Saw it in 3D when it came out, and really enjoyed it - it doesn't use the 3D as a gimmick (no 'argh it's coming out the screen' scenes), and it does give it depth. That said, I think the 3D is unnecessary. I loved the change to Dejah's character, but I felt the film tried a bit too hard to have a central villain, and that's where it loses it's way a bit. That said, it's a really good film - it feels like it goes wrong because it tries to do too much, and is too ambitious, rather than failing because it's mediocre, and I really appreciate that. I think they tried to cover the whole 'and now, magically, he's on Mars' bit really well given the complaints that would've brought. It's just a shame it was advertised badly - my boyfriend hadn't heard of it at all, and I only dragged him to see it because I knew the books.

Also, Woola is amazing and wonderful and I squealed like a little girl whenever he was on screen.

Graeme wrote: "Tina wrote: "I haven't had a chance to see it yet but I'm looking forward to catching it when it's not in 3D.

For those who've seen it, do they have Sola in the movie?"

yes, major character."
yes she is in there.