7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
Civil War vet John Carter is transplanted to Mars, where he discovers a lush, wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are 12-foot tall green barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior.
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Thomas Haden ChurchAdventure | 100% |
Action | 81% |
Fantasy | 66% |
Sci-Fi | 59% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (2 BDs, 2 DVDs)
Digital copy (on disc)
DVD copy
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
"No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature." That's right, dear readers. Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the "Tarzan" and "Barsoom" serials and series, was the Michael Bay of early 1900s pulp fantasy and science fiction. Reading Burroughs isn't a stirring intellectual experience, especially in this day and age, and his flights of Mars-bounding fantasy haven't exactly withstood the test of time. Quaintly old fashioned, filled with the sort of strange beasts and four-armed aliens that now adorn every junior high artist's sketchbook, and relayed by a chummy, opinionated -- I've come this far, so I'll just say it -- occasionally racist narrator who insists on pausing the action to speak directly to his audience, it's surprising that so many filmmakers have worked so hard to keep the Barsoom torch burning over the last hundred years.
There's a certain early 20th century American nostalgia for Burroughs' work, sure -- largely fueled by affection for the author's "Tarzan" tales -- but, let's face facts, John Carter isn't Tarzan. Few people have heard of John Carter, making the film's title as unremarkable as its paint-by-number theatrical trailers. And without a known property, without an A-list actor to draw a crowd, without a world that looks unlike anything audiences have seen before, with a gravity-given semi-superpower that allows our hero to *gasp* jump really, really high and really, really far, is it any wonder that John Carter came and went without much buzz or fanfare? That Disney's $250 million early spring tent-pole only drummed up $72 million at the U.S. box office? And barely eeked out $270 million worldwide? Is it any wonder at all that John Carter fell flat on its face after leaping so high?
Movin' on up...
At least no one can fault Disney's otherworldly 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer for John Carter's woes. While the precision crafted presentation makes some of the film's more problematic CG shots that much more problematic, blame can't be assigned to the encode itself. Colors are warm, sun-bleached and striking, with strangely earthy alien-desert browns and yellows, dazzling golds, blazing reds, brilliant blues and deep, cavernous blacks. Skintones never falter either, under the hot glare of the Martian sun, below the planet's surface, or beneath the night sky. Detail is extraordinary as well; not so sharp as to suggest artificial means, but crisp, exacting and oh-so-filmic. Textures leap to life, refined and meticulously resolved. Edges are perfectly defined, without any significant ringing or aliasing to worry over. Delineation is revealing, pulling back the curtain of Barsoom's shadows just enough to get a glimpse of anything that lies within the darkness. And clarity and contrast are consistent and unwavering, leaving little room for criticism. Artifacting, crush, smearing and other issues are held at bay, and the tiny hints of banding that occur are so negligible and fleeting that it almost seems silly to mention them. Regardless of whether or not John Carter amazes you, its high definition presentation will do nothing less.
Disney's 3D version of the film is another matter. Though the MVC encode possesses the same high-quality technical traits as its 2D counterpart, the post-converted 3D experience leaves something to be desired. Depth is decent, and the bright, colorful world Stanton and company have created lends itself to 3D. But, even at its best, the presentation exhibits a pop-up storybook plane-to-plane layering that isn't as full, involving or convincing as it might have been had the film been shot in native 3D. Sequences built from the ground up with CG are more engaging than most, but the actors look as if they've been stacked on top of the at-times flat Martian landscape. Airships, Tharks and other alien structures and creatures have more dimensionality than Carter and his fellow humanoids, and the 3D takes another hit anytime the adventure moves indoors. Is it a mediocre 3D experience? Not at all. I'd even go so far as to call it above average. But will it draw you into the worlds of Barsoom? Will it send you leaping across the skies with John Carter? Will its armies charge out of the screen? Not quite. Many of the elements are almost there, but almost isn't enough to drop jaws and leave 3D junkies breathless.
The adventure spills over into Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track too. Ships pass overhead, giant monsters smash their meaty fists on the ground, Tharks thunder across the Martian plains, arena spectators roar, energy weapons disintegrate aircraft, flying chariots whiz past... John Carter delivers a wealth of sonic wonders. LFE output is bold and bewildering, taking every thoom and rumble to task. Even when the visuals don't feel properly grounded, the film's lossless mix lends welcome weight and brings the action back down to Earth (or Mars as it were). The rear speakers step up as well, expanding and enriching the Barsoom cities, the Martian deserts, and Michael Giacchino's genre score with unflinching ambient support, stirring directional effects, and exceedingly effective cross-channel pans. Meanwhile, dialogue, ever distinct and perfectly intelligible, stands strong and weathers any chaos Carter's enemies unleash. Voices are clear and nicely centered, distant shouts and screams emanate from every direction, and crowds envelop the listener and draw filmfans deeper into the world of Barsoom than Disney's 3D video presentation. Suffice it to say, John Carter sounds every bit as good as it looks, and fans will be delighted with the results.
John Carter was a box office flop, pure and simple. So can it redeem itself and find an audience on home video? I'm sure some will flock to the cozy comforts of its grand, Old Hollywood space adventure, but without outstanding performances, a stirring story or anything that might distinguish it and carry it through the ages, Stanton's throwback sci-fi romp is doomed to be just another CG spectacle; one that will continue to weaken as its CG becomes more and more archaic over the years. Thankfully, fans in the present can count on a fantastic Blu-ray release. While its 3D experience is nothing special, its video transfer is gorgeous, its DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track is a blast, and its high-quality extras are worth taking in. Ultimately, though, if you don't have a lot of cash to spare, I'd recommend renting John Carter before taking any leaps of faith.
2018
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