Disney’s movie “John Carter” was a financial flop. It was a flop because it was marketed very poorly. It is however a very good movie in my opinion. Yes, it has action, but it has a plot that intersects the worlds and peoples of Earth and Mars. It involves war and the compromises one must make to bring peace, even though a false peace. It involves a man’s struggle to regain faith and love in humanity.
As a man I look for stories that touch me as a man. The stories I find that impact me the deepest are war movies. “Braveheart” is my all-time favorite war movie. Its plot is very simple, a man wronged in the period of history he finds himself in and how he must deal with that travesties that occur in war. The death of family usually is the main issue that draws me to the story.
John Carter withdraws from the world due to the tragedy of the Civil War and the loss of his wife and daughter. His only goal is to become rich and hide from life. He cares for nothing at all because he has lost all. Suddenly he finds himself transported through time and space to the face of Mars and is confronted with a war being waged on the planet. Along the way, he meets the princess of Mars, Dejah Thoris, who has passion for her world. John eventually finds love again and risks his own life to save hers. His comment is classical, “I’ve hidden long enough” and he thrusts himself into battle, using his power from the differences in gravity.
The ending reminds me much of the movie “Somewhere in Time”, as John Carter uses his wealth to find a way back to the princess by outsmarting the villains of the film. At that point, he is no longer John Carter of Earth, but John Carter of Mars.
Without a plot, most modern day movies are simply special effect action games or comics. They rarely touch my emotions as a man. For this reason you should consider watching the movie.
The movie is based on an 11 novel series by author Edgar Rice Burroughs published in 1917. Young readers might not know who Burroughs is, but will quickly identify him when they hear the yell of Tarzan.
