jcm

[reverancepavane]

Just saw John Carter in glorious 2D. [They put the 2D sessions on at the most inconvenient times (I believe that the closing credits are the only part of the film where you get any actual benefit from 3D - all the rest is CGI modified 2D).] Great film. Makes me want to ressurect my Martian D&D game (although that owes slightly more to Michael Moorcock's Mars trilogy than Edgar Rice Burroughs). It hewed relatively closely to the spirit of the books, produced, written, and directed by someone who plainly loved them and wanted the experience to be as authentic as possible. And the good news is that there is a new costume idea for all the Slave Leias, that being Wedding Dress Dejah. That only leaves the Carson of Venus series untapped.

Comments

[angharad-gam.livejournal.com]

Andy is watching it right now, and not enjoying it to judge from his texts (yes, he has his phone on in the movies, naughty boy). But then I don't think he is familiar with the books...

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

I do admit that it all brought a tear to my eye.

Lightflyers. Radium rifles. Tharks. I like how they kept the fact that Carter was an ex-Confederate who got chased into a cave by the Apache, and that the books were written by his cousin. All good stuff and true.

There were bits that drew from other books beyond Princess of Mars, and some additions and changes, som of which could cause a lack of gruntlement, but overall it was a good film.

Who wouldn't want to go adventuring on Barsoom (especially given the advantages you face if you come from Jarsoom/Earth)?

Anyway, do please mention why Andy dislikes it as I'm interested in how it's getting this negative press.

[angharad-gam.livejournal.com]

I've only ever read one of them myself, and I think it was one of the later ones.

I think he found it a bit stereotypical (and I'm guessing if you don't know and love the background the fact that it's so old probably means it seems stereotypical now, where once it was groundbreaking), and maybe a bit slow/tame. He thought it would be okay for kids (and being a Disney movie suspected it may have been made with a slightly younger audience in mind).

Also he did not like the lead actor much.

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say it was ever a ground-breaking work, but it was classic sword and sorcery. Even if the sorcery in this case is Science! And that genre is badly out of style.

You've made me think about how much my knowledge of the books aided my appreciation of the movie. Probably a lot. The bits I didn't like were the bits where the greatest liberty had been taken, whilst the bits I appreciated the most were the bits that were surprisingly faithful to the books.