Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 42 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 441 Ratings

  • Starring: Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe
  • Summary: Born in Virginia and a veteran of the Civil War, John Carter is an honorable and courageous man. However, the war let him dispirited and broken. Accidentally transported to the planet of Barsoom, he soon finds his strength and jumping abilities greatly amplified. He must use these newfound powers to survive the centuries-old war between the native inhabitants and save this dying world. (Disney) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 42
  2. Negative: 7 out of 42
  1. Reviewed by: Mark Holcomb
    Mar 10, 2012
    80
    The achievement of John Carter is that it takes the elements worn to nubs by everything from "Star Wars" to "Avatar" to TV's "Fringe" and makes them fresh again.
  2. 60
    There's no wonder or elation or even dopy sincerity here - just a high level of proficiency and, yes, a lot of expensive CGI.
  3. Reviewed by: Jonathan Crocker
    Mar 18, 2012
    60
    Get your ass to Mars? A handsome new sci-fi adventure that feels rather familiar. Enjoyable enough while it lasts, John Carter is big on ambition and disappointingly short on action.
  4. Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    Mar 9, 2012
    25
    Interminably long, dull and incomprehensible, John Carter evokes pretty much every sci-fi classic from the past 50 years without having any real personality of its own.

See all 42 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 21 out of 195
  1. John Carter is an unjustly dismissed sci-fi masterpiece...grossly unjustified. What was wrong with it? Specifically, what was wrong? Pacing? It was intense!!! Coming from someone who uses this word sparingly, this movie was "EPIC". I am almost certain that time will enable objectivity, and objectivity will redeem it from the stinging taint slapped on it due to a predictably simplistic aversion to what is "mainstream" by film critics. If a studio other than Disney could have created the same film with half the budget it would have been heralded as a cinematic achievement within the sci-fi genre, but its budget was viewed as ostentatious and its production studio as childish, so it became "cool" to hate on it before anyone had even seen it. Who makes something and how much they pay to have it made has nothing to due with the quality of what is actually produced, it may be indicative of quality or lack thereof, but the final product speaks for itself. Reviews of John Carter tell us more about film critics than the critics told us about the film. It was practically perfect. "Incomprehensible plotting"??? They laid the groundwork for the presumed sequels by deliberately leaving a few questions unanswered, which I hope they still make and answer because I loved this first one! Mars was epic, and then in the end we are reminded that the story began on Earth and the film ends stronger than I could have hoped for! An excellent story masterfully told on screen. Expand
  2. They really don't make them like this any more. Enjoyable from start to finish, those familiar with the books will undoubtedly get more from it - many plebs find names like Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas difficult to remember, credit to the film makers; John Carter doesn't appear to be motivated as a money-maker, isn't diminished for broad appeal and doesn't insult the intelligence. The story is modified slightly from the books (for those familiar with them) but is still, instantly recognizable. Reminds of cult classics like Star Wars, Flash, Dune, Willow, etc. The work of ERB predates them all. Expand
  3. John Carter has some amazing visual elements that are some of the best I have ever seen; the cgi is absolutely fantastic and certainly makes the film easy to watch. It's easy to see where the money was spent on this project. However, it suffers considerably due to major pacing problems, making the film feel uneven. Thus resulting in a film that, unfortunately, is disappointing and forgettable. Expand
  4. John Carter looks great one of the more visually pleasing movies of the year, but the story is pointless and by the end you just don't care what side wins or loses. Expand

See all 195 User Reviews

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