Saw John Carter (of Mars) - it was fun
But I'd rather have had a movie about Kantos Kan. (I don't know what it says when a bit part manages to radiate awesome so much.)
Or a movie in which the female characters actually got character arcs.
Spoiler free review: fun, but check brain at door.
John Carter's motivations eluded me part of the time, which didn't help, but I'm not really into broody heroes, anyway. Everyone else in the movie was much more interesting, including the, er, "dog."
I also felt like Dejah had only half a character arc. What was the point of her being on the verge of harnessing the 9th ray, if nothing was going to happen with it in the story? I know, I know, that was to give the evil angel people a reason to mess with people on Mars and poof Carter back to Earth toward the end. But, damn it, you just know that a male character with that same knowledge would have ended up doing something with it. I'm glad they gave her sword skills, but she still came out only half a character and far too dependent on the male characters. Meh.
Sola (sp?) actually kind of made it to character status, but, I don't know, there should have been more of her or something. At least she got to be part of the heroic rescue/assault and enjoy flying a whatever they're called.
Kantos Kan (who's name I only know thanks to the internet), whatever exactly he was supposed to be in the movie, was all kinds of awesome, got the biggest laugh in the movie, and earned the movie extra points by existing. (I like clever, funny, competent, somewhat reckless people who seem to be having fun. That would probably sum up my favorite character type ever. As if that's news to anyone.)
I find myself imagining that he, Dejah, and Sola (and the "dog") did all kinds of interesting Mars saving stuff while Carter was mucking about on Earth for those 10 years. Because they would probably make an awesome team. And might actually have fun saving the planet.
This entry was originally posted at http://smurasaki.dreamwidth.org/111412.html.
Or a movie in which the female characters actually got character arcs.
Spoiler free review: fun, but check brain at door.
John Carter's motivations eluded me part of the time, which didn't help, but I'm not really into broody heroes, anyway. Everyone else in the movie was much more interesting, including the, er, "dog."
I also felt like Dejah had only half a character arc. What was the point of her being on the verge of harnessing the 9th ray, if nothing was going to happen with it in the story? I know, I know, that was to give the evil angel people a reason to mess with people on Mars and poof Carter back to Earth toward the end. But, damn it, you just know that a male character with that same knowledge would have ended up doing something with it. I'm glad they gave her sword skills, but she still came out only half a character and far too dependent on the male characters. Meh.
Sola (sp?) actually kind of made it to character status, but, I don't know, there should have been more of her or something. At least she got to be part of the heroic rescue/assault and enjoy flying a whatever they're called.
Kantos Kan (who's name I only know thanks to the internet), whatever exactly he was supposed to be in the movie, was all kinds of awesome, got the biggest laugh in the movie, and earned the movie extra points by existing. (I like clever, funny, competent, somewhat reckless people who seem to be having fun. That would probably sum up my favorite character type ever. As if that's news to anyone.)
I find myself imagining that he, Dejah, and Sola (and the "dog") did all kinds of interesting Mars saving stuff while Carter was mucking about on Earth for those 10 years. Because they would probably make an awesome team. And might actually have fun saving the planet.
This entry was originally posted at http://smurasaki.dreamwidth.org/111412.html.