This film, “John Carter,” was released in 2012 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth. It is a space opera based on the novel “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which has been loved worldwide for a long time; finally, “John Carter” was released as a movie.

Although it attracted much attention because it was a commemorative film for the anniversary, it failed at the domestic box office in the U.S. despite its success at the international box office. It left its mark on history in the disgraceful form of being the film that caused the most loss and damage. Despite this, “John Carter” is by no means a film of low quality. It is a work that has been controversial among critics.

John Carter – Box Office Mojo

Overwhelming and spectacular worldview

The most appealing aspect of this film is its magnificent worldview set on Mars. In the movie, Mars is depicted as a planet with overwhelmingly advanced science and technology compared to Earth, although its oceans have dried up and are on the road to destruction. This idea is so novel that it is surprising that the story was created more than 100 years ago. It is no wonder that this work has influenced many later works as a work of science fiction.

However, this glorious and overly advanced worldview worked to the detriment of the film work “John Carter. The film adaptation has not been realized despite many years of attempts to do so because film technology has not yet evolved to the point where it is possible to visualize the original novel. However, many works have appeared worldwide that have been influenced by the original story, including several movies.

For example, the “Star Wars” series, probably the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of space opera, was born from director George Lucas’ idea to create a film in the style of Burroughs’ novel. James Cameron has said that “Avatar,” the highest-grossing movie of all time, was also conceived with the idea of “making a film like Burroughs’s legendary novels.

Because these films were released first, “John Carter” felt like a second-rate film in many places and lacked the power to draw in the audience. However, to put it another way, this film is like an origin story for them. Those who are Dan of these films will surely enjoy it.

Unparalleled CG technology

Skillful CG technology powerfully supports the magnificent worldview depicted in the film John Carter. Visualizing a world of advanced science and technology set on an unknown planet called Mars must have been no easy task. I was particularly surprised by the realism of the depiction of the desert, which is the main feature of the film. The production team led by director Andrew Stanton successfully realized this.

Director Stanton is a member of Pixar Animation Studios, well-known for films such as “Toy Story” and “Monsters, Inc. and how to handle them in CG. I felt that his experience was put to good use in this film.

However, as mentioned above, working with existing popular science fiction films is the most challenging. The “Star Wars” series’ use of deserts and planets, the “Hamunaptra” series, the “Indiana Jones” series, and the “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” series, all of which are set in deserts, are all comparable to this film, making it feel as if it lacks originality. The music, too, is somewhat “Star Wars” in nature. The music also reminded me slightly of John Williams, the master of film music who created the “Star Wars” series, and I could not shake off the feeling of déjà vu.

Power is a story that will be loved for many years.

The movie John Carter is based on a long-loved novel, and the story is also powerful. The original novel is a series of 11 books, and the first three books, in particular, were conceived as a trilogy. Since the movie was also created as a trilogy, the story’s depth was expressed.

‘John Carter’ Changed Hollywood, but Not in the Way Disney Hoped

Ten years ago, the property that inspired ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Avatar’ bombed — and now both those franchises are in the Disney family.

Due to the nature of the film, the plot was rushed, and the storyline seemed clunky at times, but as a first-person narrative and journal, it was in the traditional style of adventure stories from the 18th century. The nested structure of the plot gave the film a very good flavor. It was a perfect movie.

The storyline, in which the protagonist is suddenly transported to an unknown world, is similar to the recently popular “otherworldly transfer” stories, and even today’s youth can easily immerse themselves in the worldview and empathize with it.

However, it does not boil down to a love romance between the main character and the princess, and many Martian aliens do not fit in Disney and seem more like they would appear in Star Wars. I also thought many scenes would have been funny in a Disney animated film, but in a live-action movie, the whole thing only looked half-baked, such as places where it would have looked like a bad scenario. Because of these factors, “John Carter” has not been well received or performed at the box office in the United States.

The film is over two hours long, so if you have time to spare, please do so.