JOHN CARTER Getting Positive Buzz
I haven't been overly impressed by what I've seen from Disney's upcoming sci-fi film John Carter. It's a movie I want to be excited for, but my excitement has been dwindling. I know there are some of you that feel the same way. Today a few early reviews have been posted online, and I'm surprised that the film is actually getting a decent amount of positive buzz.
Here's what some of the reviews are saying:
Movie was really excellent and well worth watching. The audience reacted positively to the entire thing. All around me were pleasantly surprised, as most, like me, hadn’t even heard of the film. Many people took a long time to fill out their surveys and felt a responsibility to accurately convey their opinions. I felt the audience was emotionally engaged. we were rooting for JC all the way. We wanted him to marry the princess. we wanted her to love him. I would definitely recommend it.
From Ayelet Waldman via IMDB:
Just saw John Carter. It was AWESOME. Seriously. Best action movie I’ve seen … maybe ever? Lush and gorgeous. Great love story. FAB!!!! The thing about #johncarter is that the female lead is smart, & kicks ASS. It’s so female friendly!
She obviously hasn't seen The Raid yet. Of course, Waldman is married to one of the movie's screenwriters as well, so of course she's going to like it.
From Nick Soapdish who saw a few clips via AICN:
So all in all, the Film looks great. Much better then I was expecting. I have two reservations. The first is Disney’s track record with live action films of late, especially Sci-fi. Admittedly, John Carter is just as much a Fantasy film as it is Sci-Fi. But I am worried it will end up like Tron Legacy. A great film that doesn’t do as well at the box office as it deserves. The fact there has been no merchandise and poor promotion thus far means I am worried it to will not do so well.
The second is the claims of copying other films. The book is about 100 years old and nearly every sci-fi film has drawn inspiration from (or stolen) themes and ideas from these stories and like I mentioned in my review of the last clip that when people see that scene they will think Star Wars. I hope that audiences are able to realise that John Carter was the original, and is not trying to copy other famous sci-fi films.
John Carter, under the Direction of Pixar’s Andrew Stanton, could be a big Disney franchise, something that it could really do with. The planned John Carter to be a trilogy and the success of this first film will determine the future of the series. I hope it finds its audience and I for one will definitely be there opening weekend to see the final film.
Of course not all of the reviews were good.
From Dorien Sez:
Taken at face value, it’s a poor man’s Avatar (which is so poor it doesn’t own shoes), only with sepia tones instead of blue. But look a little closer and you’ll find some nice doo-dads going for it: there’s sweet battle action, the cast is top Knox, and the excellent creative team knows how to tell a fun visual story. But look closer still — the most close — and you’ll see the truth, bright as Orion’s pin head on a winter’s night: between the bullshit dialogue, silly little creatures, and a predictable, annoying tone, John Carter comes up short. Short as that skirt he wears…. We all might best AVOID THIS ONE, lest we invite Disney to pound us, Carter-style, with more of this foolishness for the decade to come.
I'm still not sold. I will still see the movie, I just have low expectations. What do you think?