EXCLUSIVE: John Carter Review (3/5)

Get the first movie-goer's definitive verdict on Disney's dark fantasy flick!
It's strange. Watching John Carter yesterday, I sensed a distinct similarity to a film (once scorned) that I had seen not two weeks earlier and now hold a far greater affection for than I once did- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D (3.5/5). Bar some of the time-travelling aspects, many of the locales, action setpieces and political situations raised in the science-fiction plot- which sees a man transported to Mars and forced to fight for his life in an alien civil war- parallel those of George Lucas' 1999 epic, and while this doesn't do the film too much harm, the sense of deja vu is far more present when a modern movie is attempting to right Lucas' wrongs then when we reexamined Episode I in a more positive light last month with its re-release. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like about this one- the 3D effects work well, the CGI employed throughout is constantly impressive, and all of the cast put up a good effort in trying to faithfully adapt what must have been a tough series of comic-books (John Carter Of Mars) to convert to a film format. However, most films rest on their storyline and the cinematic execution of this- for example, while Avatar wasn't the most original invention, its portrayal of its events was unique and innovative for its time- and John Carter sadly falls down in this respect, failing to show much enthusiasm in its representation of its fantasy worlds and adventures, and as a result it's hard to feel totally engaged by it at any point. Another problem is that despite the trailers advertising a dark and gritty sci-fi thriller, what Disney have really given us is a fairly rudimentary fantasy romp that from the outset places its focus on a distinctly teenage audience who want nothing more than to see aliens battle it out with lasers and spaceships. Equally, this approach helps keep things interesting and well-paced, but the ending feels rushed at best, almost placed there just to set up the inevitable sequel. Had the marketing team worked a little more on aiming this squarely at the teenage demographic, I think they might have had a bit more success in levelling our expectations for John Carter- as it is, I just feel as if I went in expecting the world, and came out with a blurred map of York. A bit of a disappointment, if I'm being brutally honest.