Nick Danger

That trailer does not make me want to see the movie. The hero looks generic, the color palette looks generic, the action looks generic, and the crowds of CGI characters looks like Star Wars Prequels. Even the music sounds like Led Zepplin.

You would think that CGI would give movie makers free rein to create new worlds. Why do their movies all look the same?

Michael Corvin

I liked it, much better than the earlier teaser, but I do have to agree, wtf is with the Zeppelin knock-off music?

Quatermass

Definitely a rental for me. The trailer makes it look like an Avatar ripoff.

Rob V

Looks like a cross between the 2nd Riddick movie and The Clone Wars... not good either way.

islandclaws

New trailer is just as bad, maybe even worse since it was longer than the teaser. This thing is going to bomb hard. No question. I'm predicting a sub-$30m opening.

Hiro11

My sister in law did the animation on the giant six legged gorilla thing in the beginning of the trailer. It took months of tedious work just for that one sequence.

Rypro 525

just watched the trailer, i think i'm gonna pass. hell the rock music sounds like the Puff Daddy remix of Zeppelins Kashmir.

i had to google that name

Dr. DVD

Shame it was for (what looks to be )a crappy movie. That's my problem with CG. It's tedious to do, time consuming, expensive, and doesn't really do much to help if the story and acting is weak.

Thrush

My biggest problem with it is the actor playing John Carter doesn't pass the eyeball test. He looks like he belongs in a a CW network show or an Ambercrombie & Fitch catalog. Too young and effete to be carrying an action movie.

DaveyJoe

It's definitely the same riff as Kashmir and Puff Daddy's Come With Me.

Matthew Chmiel

I just got invited to a morning screening of this tomorrow.

to seeing it early.

I have to wake up at what time again?

islandclaws

Cool story, bro.

Come back when you can actually report on it. Actually, that's today...

Well?

TomOpus

One thing that has bugged me is why the thread title was never changed since it's not a Pixar production but a Disney production. Early on it was stated that Pixar had some of their people working on it but it is a Disney film.

Anywho, early awaiting what Matthew has to say about the movie.

riley_dude

He definitely passes the eye test for me.
Looking forward to this.
Sorry for all the haters.

Rob V

Agreed. He looks like a total pussy and not someone I'd put money on to save the universe let alone a stray cat from a tree.

Ash Ketchum

A critique of poor casting does not qualify as "hate."

Eddie W

I think movies were a lot more visually interesting before filmakers were able to digitally manipulate the color palette. And decided that teal & orange were the only two colors needed for CGI action movies.

Matthew Chmiel

I've been swamped with work all day, so I don't have time to do an in-depth analysis. I might argue that its the first great film of 2012. It's been years since I've read the original series, but Stanton and company are faithful to the source material. In a nutshell:

• The film has pacing issues within the first act, but once it finds its footing shortly after Carter's arrival on Mars, the film doesn't let up.
• I thought Taylor Kitsch would be quite the Streisand, but he rocks the shit in this one.
• The film looks epic and gorgeous. You can easily see where the $250 million went.
• Don't bother with the 3D as its blessed me with a massive headache all afternoon. There are moments where the 3D looks great, but the rest is the same bullshit you've already come to expect from a post-convert.

There's a specific sequence in the film that caught me off guard, but it proved that Stanton has mastered how to tell a story from his days at PIXAR.

islandclaws

Interest slightly piqued.

DaveyJoe

Could you elaborate on the eyeball test for me, please?

cartman

I thought it was a bit boring (especially the first 20 minutesish). It had some great moments, but they would be stuffed between otherwise boring, predictable exposition. The ending was great, though.

cartman

I guess it says a little about what I think of the movie that I can't figure out what you're referring to.

davidh777

Well, I made a reviews thread with the correct title but screwed up the formatting in trying to make it cool like Chmiel's reviews threads. I e-mailed a mod asking how to fix it.

Matthew Chmiel

One of my favorite parts of how Stanton tells the story is that there's very little-to-no information given about Carter's past. We know he was a captain for the Confederacy during the Civil War and that's really it. Stanton uses hyper cuts throughout the first half of the film to show extremely brief glimpses into Carter's actual past and what made him the person he is today.


Looking back, I'm glad that Stanton crafted the film to the point that the audience connects with the story or they don't. It's not a film that appeals to the lowest common denominator. There's no plot or story information that's constantly bashed over the audience's head until they understand what's happening. You either get it or you don't. In a film like this where you could easily cross the line and become incredibly cheesy due to goofy dialogue and story developments (ahem, Star Wars prequels, ahem), everything here feels natural.

JumpCutz

Quality aside, I agree with KC, this has all the earmarks of being a huge bomb.