The much anticipated trailer for the Disney treatment of the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi adventure series John Carter of Mars was released yesterday.
How cool is that? Love those Barsoomian ships. But after drooling over Frank Franzetta’s voluptuous renderings of “the incomparable” Dejah Thoris on book covers for years, the shock of seeing her with a top on will take some getting used to.
Fans of the last major series by Burroughs not butchered by Hollywood are holding their breath that for once, Tinsel Town will get it right and capture the vision of one of the most imaginative writers of the 20th century.
So far, there are signs that cause both trepidation and hope. Most worrisome is dropping “of Mars” from the original title. Now it is simply John Carter set for release on March 9, 2012. Disney – marketing geniuses? Maybe they know something the rest of us don’t.
They are also being coy about the look of some of the fantastical Martian beasts – especially the humanoid Tharks. John Carter’s experiences with the 15 foot tall green skinned, 4 armed, be-tusked “hordes” is a central part of the story. Also wondering about Carter’s Calot (dog) Woola who stands as tall as a Shetland pony with 10 legs and the head of a frog.
What about Carter’s superior strength and agility, bulging muscles and giant “thews?” Carter could leap 30 feat at a time in the weaker Martian gravity, which gave him an enormous advantage over any adversary. It’s the reason he’s dominant on the planet so you wonder if they can remain true to that part of Carter’s personae.
And they better not screw up the thoats. (great Wiki on Barsoom here).
On the good side, Andrew Stanton (Wall-E and Finding Nemo) is helming the project which is already into post-production. Stanton, who also penned the script, swears that he has made a “true Martian movie.” Famous last words. And judging from the trailer, there doesn’t appear to be anything cheesy about the backdrops — a fault that ruined The Martian Chronicles.
The stars are a mixed lot. I’m dubious of Willem Dafoe playing Carter’s best friend, the Thark Tars Tarkas. But Lynn Collins (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Dejah Thoris seems fine. Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) as John Carter is going to be hit or miss. I think he’s too young (Carter was a Civil War hero) but he looks great in the trailer – suitably heroic. Hard to think of who might have played the role today. Contemporary action heroes just wouldn’t fill the bill. How about Robert Taylor or Victor Mature? Errol Flynn might have been OK too.
I apologize if my cynicism is showing through but so many films have disappointed upon being transferred from literature to celluloid that I am fully expecting disaster. I think the best those of us who are fans of the series can hope for is that they stick to the story and not overload the film with a lot of syrupy exposition and non-essential romance.
IMDB page here.
My mom started me reading on the chronicles, and I would often go to sleep dreaming of waking on Barsoom. I saw the last SciFi john carter of mars movie and it was terrible.
The previews of this one seem very promising.
He’s definitely too young. John Carter is supposed to be 30 – 40 years old, this Kitsch guy looks like he’s maybe 25? Dafoe might be able to pull off the Tars Tarkas role, we’ll have to wait and see. Dejah Thoris is acceptable judging by the trailer, but a little disappointing considering the resources they had available to them. Skin tone could have been made more consistent with the “reddish copper” described in A Princess Of Mars. Same with the Thark shown at 1:09. Disappointing, considering the resources. Ok, so maybe that particular green martian was a Warhoon, not a Thark. Semantics. Overall, judging by this trailer, I am not sure whether this is going to be as good as it should be. If this comes off looking to the uninformed like a poor imitation of Avatar, it will be unforgivable.
I agree with everything I’ve seen so far in the comments (and the original article). I’m guessing the reason they’ve dropped “Mars” from the title (based on the way “our planet” is presented in the trailer), is that they want to catch an audience who hasn’t heard of the series. They’re hoping to woo some lifelong fans, sure, but I think what they’re really after here is people who spend the whole trailer thinking “is this the remake of Conan” [I'm quoting my non-sci-fi-geek DH there]? because they miss the words “John Carter” and don’t get the significance of “Mr. Burroughs, I’m afraid I have sad tidings” at the outset. At this point, they seem to be trying for the Avatar audience in other words, and I DO hope that quit that a trailer or two from now. The Avatar folks will come if they want to, but Cameron was playing on Burroughs, NOT the other way around, and as Anon says above, I’d hate to see it look like Carter came second.
John Carter’s age is never specified; though Burroughs (in the voice of John Carter) suggests he’s pretty old:
“…I have never aged as other men, nor do I remember any childhood. So far as I can recollect I have always been a man, a man of about thirty. I appear today as I did forty years and more ago…”
So, actually, according to Burroghs himself, Taylor Kitsch is probably about the right age. My concerns are regarding Deja Thoris and the Tharks. In my mind, Deja looks an awful lot more like Aletta Ocean, and a lot less like this anemic little waif. And while I agree Dafoe could maybe be the voice of Tars Tarkas, he in no way resembles a gigantic, four armed olive green warrior of the Red Planet.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
John Carter is a fictional person based on the lead character in the Barsoom series of novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter, played by Taylor Kitsch, is a former military captain from Earth, and it transported to Mars. http://bit.ly/qKlI7u
Thanks for this, Rick. I posted this on my Dad’s facebook wall. He introduced me to John Carter when I was a kid and I read the yellowed paperbacks he read in the ’50s and ’60s.
I am 53 years old and have read all of Burroughs’s Barsoom, Pirates of Venus, and Pellucidar books, as well as most Tarzan books, when i heard Disney got the rights to do this movie, i was worried a bit. But, they did well with Pirates of the Caribbean. I will wait and see.
I saw the trailer recently at the theater, and I’m not in a good place!
I can’t get past the fact that they apparently didn’t have a big enough
budget to make Dejah Thoris, and others of her race, THE RIGHT COLOR.
She’s no different than John Carter, the man from Earth!!!!
WHAT THE HELL!!!
And on top of that: the Martian vistas in the trailer suck – it just looks
like a pretty picture taken in Arizona!
I’m so disappointed I just want to rant at Disney.
I’m definitely going to go see it, and pray that the movie will be soooo good that I will get past those two things. (Fingers crossed)