When one goes to see the preview of a Disney blockbuster centered around a character who has been around for quite a while it is expected to spawn a major franchise or die a painful death. Unfortunately for this movie the latter seems to be the ominous fate awaiting it.
The movie starts with an introduction to Barsoom(alternate name for Mars) and its populace. A screenplay which slowly reveals the state of things rather than a in your face lecture would have been definitely more apt for a 12+ rated movie like John Carter(JC). After the introduction John Carter(Taylor Kitsch) is shown trying to evade stalkers on earth and arranges for his will to be made on an emergency basis. Later he is declared as deceased upon which the sole heir of his properties Edgar Rice Burroughs(Daryl Sabara), his nephew arrives. He is handed over his uncle's diary as per JC's instruction in the will. Edgar starts to read his uncle's diary and so begin the adventures of John Carter.
John Carter accidently reaches Barsoom(Mars) during one of his cave exploring ventures and is on a journey of discovery. The movie slows down at this point and out glare the inadequacies of the movie. There is a clear lack of imagination on the part of the fimmakers as they opt for cheesy dialogues and mundane screenplay. A major letdown for the movie is the wooden acting of Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris). She displays in oodles of screen time that she was a very poor choice for the role as she is not able to create any chemistry with Taylor Kitsch.
Things thankfully move faster in the second half and so the ineffectual drama is sidelined by CG and JC's jumping antics. The filmmakers should have developed a better script with the available source material for the character. With uneven pace, poor acting and dialogues and an unimaginative screenplay what could have been an epic ends up as an also ran!
