John Carter

[Celini]

Hum...
http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2012/03/02/jo ... er-review/

Hilarious!

Taylor Kitsch plays John Carter with all the charm and charisma of an over-boiled cabbage

so Beate, are you still so sure???

[Beate]

LOL, we will see.

[Beate]

http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2012 ... -2012.html

[Jayman]

Interesting rating scale on that last one:

Rating: Film ** / Movie ***

What's the difference?

[Celini]

the guy praises Taylor Kitsch's acting.... surely we've seen a different film/movie

[Jayman]

These early reviews are the confirmation I needed.
I'll be sleeping in on Saturday & Sunday.

[funthing29]

Bad, bad, bad.

All the money went on the special effects because the script, acting and 3D is pants. Will post a more detailed review tomorrow.

Our seats were originally at the back in the corner, but someone came over and offered the people next to us (the winner of the Lovefilm comp) tickets in the second row and we followed. So we had a great view of the stars who introduced the film. Everyone was there, except Ciaran Hinds.

The studio executive who greenlit this project must be cowering under his desk once he saw what the final version looked like with such a huge budget. $250 million dollars was spent on this, and it shows, in all the wrong ways. The film is too special effects heavy. It takes away from the focus on the characters and the story.

The story is silly, yes, but seems even more ridiculous in the film version (I am sure it works better in the books). The story gathers momentum, then slows down, then gathers momentum, and slows down again. The pacing is all over the place, some parts of the story rushed through, and others endless with so much exposition. I definitely felt the 132 minute running time. The final battle felt anticlimactic and was disappointing. And don't even get me started on the additional ending which doesn't add anything.

The script is rather bland, and even the special effects shots can't make all the exposition more interesting. The acting is wooden. Kitsch has one expression throughout and all his line delivered in a gruff voice to sound manly, but no emotional range displayed. Every scene looks for an opportunity to show his pecks and biceps. Even the well known actors like Hinds, Purefoy, Strong and West look like they would rather be somewhere else.

There is no character development, Carter's backstory is hinted at, but all you ever get is a glimpse at what motivates him. The film tries to include as many characters and places as possible, which means some barely make an impression.

Some of the wide landscape shots and panoramic shots of Helium do look stunning, and the Tharks are realised well.

The 3D is definitely used here and is noticeable, but not in a good way. The backgrounds seem very blurry. During the Q&A after the premiere, the director said this was due to poor projection on the screen, but I think it is partly due to the work of the post-production team.

The Q&A was very good. The director was charming and funny. He was full of trivia about the film and the production.

Just for the record, I can assure people that there is no scene after the credits.

5/10.

[MariaLionza]

The screening I was invited to was an IMAX and every now and then the 3D went kind of wonky.
At times it was really boring but the person who invited me adored it.

[MariaLionza]

The screening I was invited to was an IMAX and every now and then the 3D went kind of wonky.
At times it was really boring but the person who invited me adored it.

As the film went on I started planning how to get as many popcorn bags I could for my host, managed to get a plastic bag out when the noisy bits came on but at the end my host made me relinquish the idea.
There were so many empty seats!

[funthing29]

I think the premiere was almost full, and unusually, the director and stars stayed and watched the film.