John Carter, Bladder-buster of Mars

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Saw JOHN CARTER yesterday with my son and not only did I like it, I walked out of the theater aching to write some sword-and-planet. I’d always wanted to read some Leigh Brackett, and that would be a fantastic excuse.

Still, it’s strange to see this movie dumped in the post-Oscars garbage pail release schedule and to read the NYTimes dumping on it unseen. I understand that some people have no interest in the genre, and the pseudo-insider “Hollywood spent lots of money on a flop!” articles are incredibly easy to write, but come on! This was a lot of fun.

I picked up the book two years ago because it was the most interesting option at an in-store Espresso Book Machine (video) but I never got around to reading it. Seeing this movie bumps it up my list.

Thing is, the movie is so freaking romantic: a dying world, interplanetary love, forbidden compassion, open-air “planes”, a cowboy with a tragic past, warring city-states, mysterious tombs, swords and armor dueling, ancient ruins, secret temples, mysterious villains behind the villain… the whole thing is really well put together. My bladder nearly burst because I just had to stay for the whole thing.

Damn it’s a good movie. You should see it in the theater if you can.