John Carter (film): Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"''Find a cause. Fall in love. Write a book! '''[[Dare to Be Badass|Do something with your life.]]'''''"|'''John Carter''', to his [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|nephew]], '''[[~~Edgar Rice Burroughs (Creator)|~~Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'''}}

{{quote|"''Find a cause. Fall in love. Write a book! '''[[Dare to Be Badass|Do something with your life.]]'''''"|'''John Carter''', to his [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|nephew]], '''[[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]'''}}

'''''John Carter''''' is a live-action film released on March 9, 2012. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and is based upon ''A Princess of Mars'', the first novel in the ''[[John Carter of Mars]]'' series by [[~~Edgar Rice Burroughs (Creator)|~~Edgar Rice Burroughs]]. It is directed by Andrew Stanton, best known for directing ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' and ''[[WALL-E]]''.

'''''John Carter''''' is a live-action film released on March 9, 2012. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and is based upon ''A Princess of Mars'', the first novel in the ''[[John Carter of Mars]]'' series by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]. It is directed by Andrew Stanton, best known for directing ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' and ''[[WALL-E]]''.

In 19th century America, a Civil War veteran and wealthy traveler named John Carter has suddenly died. His nephew is instructed to read his private journal...

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Carter becomes involved in a war between factions of the Red Men, encouraged by a third group of aliens, the pale Therns. He discovers that the Therns have Earth in their sights as well...

Reviews were mostly mixed though the usual sentiment is that it's a good-looking if average film. However the box office returns were very poor, ultimately bombing in the American market. [http://www.optimum.net/News/AP/Article?fmId=55791414-lhL So much so that Disney Studio Chief, Rick Ross, resigned because of the failure], and Disney estimated they'd lose about 200 million on it, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18000362 making it one of the biggest flops of all time (when it comes to money lost).] Fortunately, Disney was able to make up the loss with ''[[The Avengers (~~Film~~)|The Avengers]]'' three months later, and the film actually barely broke even.

Reviews were mostly mixed though the usual sentiment is that it's a good-looking if average film. However the box office returns were very poor, ultimately bombing in the American market. [http://www.optimum.net/News/AP/Article?fmId=55791414-lhL So much so that Disney Studio Chief, Rick Ross, resigned because of the failure], and Disney estimated they'd lose about 200 million on it, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18000362 making it one of the biggest flops of all time (when it comes to money lost).] Fortunately, Disney was able to make up the loss with ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'' three months later, and the film actually barely broke even.

=== The film includes the following tropes: ===

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: In the novel, Tal Hajus is a lazy [[Villainous Glutton]] who pretty much [[Orcus On His Throne|never moves from the throne he's parked himself on]]. He's just as cruel, but much more active and in much better shape, here {{spoiler|(not that it saves him from an ignominious end, though)}}. See also [[Xenafication]] below.

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: In the novel, Tal Hajus is a lazy [[Villainous Glutton]] who pretty much [[Orcus on His Throne|never moves from the throne he's parked himself on]]. He's just as cruel, but much more active and in much better shape, here {{spoiler|(not that it saves him from an ignominious end, though)}}. See also [[Xenafication]] below.

* [[Adventurer Archaeologist]]: John takes on aspects of this after {{spoiler|he is sent back to Earth by the Therns and searches the world for a way to return.}}

* [[Aerith and Bob]]: The two rival Red Martian city-states are named Zodanga and Helium.

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* [[Bald of Evil]]: All Therns are naturally bald.

* [[Bare Your Midriff]]: John for most of the movie, and Dejah, all while wearing [[Chainmail Bikini|a suit of armour]].

* [[Base On Wheels]]: Zodanga is a city that moves around on mechanical (?) legs.

* [[Base on Wheels]]: Zodanga is a city that moves around on mechanical (?) legs.

* [[Batman Gambit]]: At the end, we find out that most of the framing story has been one big one {{spoiler|by John to get back to Barsoom by luring a Thern to his house and taking his medallion. He pretended to already have found a medallion, faked his death and hid the instructions on how to open his mausoleum (where the Therns thought they would find his body in order to kill him) in his letter to Edgar. He knew that the Therns would be watching Edgar to find out how to get into the mausoleum, so he hid back and ambushed one of them when they were focused on stalking Edgar.}}

** Sab Than, on the advice of Matai Shang, uses one to persuade Dejah to go through with the wedding: he puts his life in her hands, knowing that she's too honorable to kill him in cold blood and that she'll sacrifice her own freedom to end the war.

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* [[Bloodless Carnage]]: Played with. There is blood in the film, but Martians have blue blood. John Carter, of course, is a [[Just for Pun|red-blooded American]].

* [[Blue Eyes]] / [[What Beautiful Eyes!]]: Dejah Thoris.

* [[Breaking the Bonds]]: John Carter is [[Chained to A Rock]], but uses his strength to break them -- after that the Tharks make sure to use stronger chains, not that it always helps.

* [[Breaking the Bonds]]: John Carter is [[Chained to a Rock]], but uses his strength to break them -- after that the Tharks make sure to use stronger chains, not that it always helps.

* [[Breakout Villain]]: Matai Shang isn't mentioned until the second book, and hangs around the edges of the story before being introduced in person in the third. Here, he's being set up as [[Big Bad]] from the beginning.

* [[Call a Smeerp A Rabbit]]:

* [[Call a Smeerp a Rabbit]]:

** Gigantic predators with six gorilla-like limbs, hippopotamus-tusks and white fur - called simply White Apes.

** Woola is referred to as a "dog" sometimes.

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* [[Cool Pet]]: Woola, a bear-sized, ten-legged, super-speedy pug-dog... reptile... thing, who will literally follow you anywhere just because you were kind to it, occasionally bite people, and predict your every movement.

* [[Deuteragonist]]: [[Captain Obvious|John Carter is the protagonist]], Dejah Thoris is the deuteragonist, and Tars Tarkas is the tritagonist.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: [[Superman (~~Film~~)|John first meets Dejah when he catches her in mid-air, saving her from falling to her death]]. Fitting, as this movie's source material helped inspire the latter. Probably a lot of other unintentional/unavoidable examples due to the source material.

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: [[Superman (film)|John first meets Dejah when he catches her in mid-air, saving her from falling to her death]]. Fitting, as this movie's source material helped inspire the latter. Probably a lot of other unintentional/unavoidable examples due to the source material.

* [[Dope Slap]]: Tars Tarkas towards John when {{spoiler|it's discovered the wedding is being held in Helium.}}

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Multiarmed Tharks wield up to four weapons at once. John often fights with two swords.

* [[The Dulcinea Effect]]: Though he witnesses an entire aerial battle between Zodanga and Helium, he doesn't jump in until Dejah (whom he has not yet met) is in danger. No more than five minutes later, Tars Tarkas gets John to join him by threatening her. It's lampshaded by Dejah.

* [[Establishing Character Moment]]: Despite saying he no longer wanted anything to do with humanity, John Carter quickly came to the aid of the wounded cavalry officer during the Apache encounter.

* [[Everything's Better ~~With~~ Princesses]]

* [[Everything's Better with Princesses]]

* [[Evil Brit]]: All Zodangans and Therns.

* [[Exact Words]]: Tars Tarkas dubs John Carter ''Dotar Sojat'', "my right hands". {{spoiler|Later, when John unexpectedly [[Challenging the Chief|challenges]] Tal Hajus for the Thark leadership, the latter protests that he's not even a Thark. Tars Tarkas says he is "my right hands".}}

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* [[Historical Domain Character]]: Edgar Rice Burroughs is the young nephew of John Carter in this story, who obviously uses the tale of Mars in his uncle's journal for inspiration to write the Barsoom series. This was a feature in the original novels as well.

* [[Horse of a Different Color]]: Martians use rhino-like eight-legged mounts (called Thoats in the books).

* [[Hot Chick ~~With~~ a Sword]]: Dejah Thoris.

* [[Hot Chick with a Sword]]: Dejah Thoris.

* [[Hot Scientist]]: Dejah Thoris, by virtue of being Regent of the Hall of Science.

* [[How Do I Shot Web?]]: It takes some time for John to get used to Martian gravity and master his great leaps.

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* [[Light Is Not Good]]: The villainous Therns dress in shining silvery robes.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Thanks to the [[Heavyworlder]] effect, John can leap incredible heights AND pack a hefty punch. Also, Woola: it runs with great speed and is quite dangerous in close combat, and is capable of holding down John, who isn't easily held down by the weaker Martians.

* [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]]: John's nephew (and [[Secret Keeper]]) is [[~~Edgar Rice Burroughs (Creator)|~~Edgar Rice Burroughs]].

* [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]]: John's nephew (and [[Secret Keeper]]) is [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]].

* [[Logo Joke]]: The Disney castle is lit by reddish light, under an [[Alien Sky]].

* [[Magic From Technology]]: The source of the Therns' more spectacular powers.

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* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Taylor Kitsch shows off his pecs.

* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: ...and Lynn Collins wears some very skimpy outfits. She lampshades it when wearing a very ''strategically'' designed wedding dress, saying it's too vulgar for her tastes.

** She's pretty well covered [[Diamonds in ~~The~~ Buff|compared to the original novels though]].

** She's pretty well covered [[Diamonds in the Buff|compared to the original novels though]].

* [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous]]: The Tharks have four arms.

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: The Tharks never stop calling John "Virginia", after he introduces himself as Captain John Carter of the [[American Civil War|Army of Virginia]].

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* [[Not Quite the Right Thing]]: John Carter bravely saves the wounded Colonel Powell from a probable quick death at the hands of the Apache {{spoiler|and thereby (unintentionally) condemns him to die a lingering and lonely death from exposure and blood loss in a cave. Even worse if you consider the battle with the Apache took place out in the open probably close to the cavalry camp meaning rescue - though unlikely - might have been possible if Carter had left Powell for dead.}}

* [[Not So Different]]: John's claims of having no cause are mirrored by {{spoiler|the Therns.}}

* [[Off ~~With~~ His Head]]:

* [[Off with His Head]]:

** {{spoiler|Tal Hajus's}} death.

** Almost happens to John when {{spoiler|Thars Tharkas attempts to kill Matai Shang impersonating him.}}

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* [[Someone Elses Problem]]: John Carter, for the first half of the movie, cares very little for the fact that Mars is going to hell.

* [[Squishy Wizard]]: The Therns are [[The Ageless|ageless]] and wield enormous magical power, but die a from a single gunshot, like mere [[Puny Humans]].

* [[Stillborn Franchise]]: Before the movie was released, Andrew Stanton was talking about a trilogy. Then the media started talking it up as the flop of the decade, due to poor advance buzz and a weak performance at the US box office. However, Disney's losses are currently less than they had predicted at the end of March 2012, and there's a slight chance that Disney might go on with the rest of the trilogy after all. Of course, there's also the possibility that Disney may greenlight the second film if this one [[Vindicated By Cable|has stronger home video sales than box office sales]].

* [[Stillborn Franchise]]: Before the movie was released, Andrew Stanton was talking about a trilogy. Then the media started talking it up as the flop of the decade, due to poor advance buzz and a weak performance at the US box office. However, Disney's losses are currently less than they had predicted at the end of March 2012, and there's a slight chance that Disney might go on with the rest of the trilogy after all. Of course, there's also the possibility that Disney may greenlight the second film if this one [[Vindicated by Cable|has stronger home video sales than box office sales]].

* [[String Theory]]: One of the drawings in John Carter's room in his estate. Also used as a visual motif in the end credits.

* [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]: The Therns are implied to be these.

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* [[Troubled Backstory Flashback]]: To John's life with his wife and daughter, and his later grim discovery.

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Channeling his unresolved grief and anger from {{spoiler|the death of his wife and child while he was away, years ago}}, John Carter takes on an army of feral Green Martians [[One-Man Army|alone]], immersing himself in slaughter in a blood-soaked catharsis. [[What Do You Mean It's Not for Kids?|In a Disney movie!]]

* [[Vertebrate ~~With~~ Extra Limbs]]: The Barsoomian fauna, as well as the four-armed Tharks.

* [[Vertebrate with Extra Limbs]]: The Barsoomian fauna, as well as the four-armed Tharks.

* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]: All the Therns can do this, though it appears to be a function of their medallions and bracelets rather than a natural ability.

* [[Walking Shirtless Scene]]: Taylor Kitsch, in most Barsoom scenes.

* [[Whip It Good]] / [[Chain Pain]]: How John deals with one of the white apes.

* [[Win the Crowd]]: In-universe. John makes the Tharks root for him by demonstrating his prowess in the arena.

* [[Why Waste a Wedding]]: {{spoiler|So the wedding between Sab Than and Dejah didn't go as planned and erupted in epic bloodshed? Why, we can marry her off to John Carter that very night, amid the wreckage of the city!}}

* [[Why Waste a Wedding?]]: {{spoiler|So the wedding between Sab Than and Dejah didn't go as planned and erupted in epic bloodshed? Why, we can marry her off to John Carter that very night, amid the wreckage of the city!}}

* [[The Wild West]]: The action takes place there before John Carter gets transported to Mars.

* [[Wizards ~~From~~ Outer Space]]: The Therns.

* [[Wizards from Outer Space]]: The Therns.

* [[Xenafication]]: Book Dejah always had the ''attitude'' of a [[Proud Warrior Race Girl]]; the film gives her the fighting skills to back it up.

* [[You Called Me "X" - It Must Be Serious]]: An interesting variant. Edgar Rice Burroughs realizes that something's up when his Uncle Jack addresses him as "Ned" in his letter instead of "Edgar". At the end, he finds out that {{spoiler|pressing the letters '''N''', '''E''', and '''D''' on the "Inter Mundos" inscription unlocks John's burial chamber.}}