Movie · 2012 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 2h 12m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 1.4/10 (443K ratings)
Lost in our world, found in another.
Overview
John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.4/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.76/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 52%
Metacritic: 51
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
Andrew Stanton
Production
Walt Disney Pictures
Cast
Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Bryan Cranston, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, David Schwimmer, Jon Favreau, Don Stark, Nicholas Woodeson, Art Malik, Arkie Reece, Davood Ghadami, Pippa Nixon
Where to watch
Disney Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A big, earnest pulp adventure with real visual imagination and old-school swashbuckling energy, but also a clunky setup, uneven lead performance, and enough exposition to blunt its momentum. If you like sincere space fantasy and can forgive a messy first act, it’s more fun than its reputation suggests.
Best for
fans of earnest blockbuster adventure
viewers who like pulp sci-fi worlds and alien civilizations
people open to flawed but ambitious studio spectacles
audiences who enjoy classic serial-style action
Skip if
you need tight plotting and clean exposition
you dislike miscast or emotionally distant leads
you want a fully polished modern franchise starter
you’re allergic to heavy worldbuilding
Overview
John Carter is the rare expensive flop that feels less cynical than confused. It wants to be a rousing, romantic, old-fashioned adventure, and when it settles into that mode it has a surprising amount of charm: big creatures, strange politics, and a sense of movement that keeps the film alive even when the script is over-explaining itself.
Worth noting
The movie’s biggest problem is that it takes a while to find its footing. The opening is overloaded, the hero is intentionally blank but not always compelling, and the emotional beats don’t always land with the force the film wants. Still, the world of Barsoom is vivid, and the film’s sincerity goes a long way toward making it watchable.
Bottom line
For viewers who miss studio sci-fi that plays like a Saturday matinee on a giant canvas, this has enough spectacle and momentum to recommend. It’s not a lost masterpiece, but it is an underrated piece of pulp entertainment with more heart than polish.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Framesofnick (2.5★) · 1048 likes
John carter I hardly know her
Noel Mellor (4.5★) · 702 likes
With the heart of classic 80s adventure and a modern aesthetic, #johncarter did what so many have failed to do. It made me feel like a kid.
Matt Singer (2.5★) · 371 likes
Watching this for the first time since theaters my opinion remains totally unchanged: An extremely earnest and faithful adaptation of its source material about a guy who jumps around Mars like a human flea; with a deeply miscast hero (and I love me some Friday Night Lights so it pains me to say that) and a female lead who completely outshines him and steals the movie to the point where I remain mystified she didn’t go on to massive stardom.
1994 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 2h 1m · PG-13 · Curator 3.2/10 (100.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A portal adventure that mixes military framing with ancient-world wonder and broad sci-fi mythology.