"John Carter": And One Warrior in the Field

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Personally, I do not really like films where proper names appear in the title, such as "John Wick", "Johnny D", "Benjamin Button", "Walter Mitty", etc. In my understanding, the abundance of such names speaks either of the author's bad imagination, or of the integration of other people's names into global self-awareness. Indeed, even from the market point of view, the film "John Carter" was more profitable to name in a form close to the original source - "Princess of Mars".

Why exactly "Princess of Mars" ?! Because in 1912 Edgar Burroughs, the author of the famous Tarzan, published a novel with this very title. The book has been filmed several times, and "John Carter" is the latest version of the film adaptation.

From the very beginning, the film gradually introduces us to the main character. John Carter is a convinced deserter: while gallant cavalrymen capture the North American mainland, he is busy looking for treasures. Completely disenchanted with any ideals, he simply seeks to get rich and arrange his life. Carter's individualism is perhaps even understandable, given the goals of his former associates in freeing the American lands from the Indians.

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As a result of chance, the main character finds a mysterious artifact, which, against his will, transports him to Mars. It turns out that on the "red planet" there is a developed civilization with its own long history. The planet, exhausted by long wars, is on the brink of the last destructive war. For power in this world, two states of humanoids (outwardly completely identical to humans) are fighting. Aside from the conflict, the third force remains, the primitive communal race of multi-armed Tarks.

As the plot progresses, Carter tries to return home, but he has to get involved in political events on Mars and try to stop the extermination of people by humans. In principle, this is all pretty commonplace. However, there are several points that significantly enrich the concept of the film.

Many far from stupid people are accustomed to reasoning that all wars and conflicts arise by themselves. As if a group of "offended boys" decided to beat a group of other "offended boys", and by chance, entire nations and civilizations are destroyed. So, probably, our hero also thinks, but as soon as he takes part in the struggle for Mars, he immediately collides with a hidden force. He discovers that all conflicts on the planet are controlled by some Thorns, powerful creatures doomed to immortality, playing with living beings as they please. They are cynical and absolutely do not believe in the development of reason in lower civilizations. At the same time, thorns themselves slow down technological progress in a peaceful manner. It is these omnipotent creatures that are challenged by the common man - the main character.

The second important aspect is the position of the protagonist throughout the film. At the beginning of the plot, we see a typical character in an adventure film - an adventurer, rather cynical, dexterous and cunning. How many films of this kind can you find? Dozens, and at the end of the plot the hero remains the same convinced adventurer, for example: Jack Sparrow, Indiana Jones, the main character from Guardians of the Galaxy, and the list goes on and on.

However, John Carter is not the case. Almost immediately, we learn that the cause of inner detachment was a personal tragedy experienced not so long ago. But John Carter, who has a developed sense of justice, begins to manifest himself differently by his actions than on Earth. On the one hand, he is prompted to act by falling in love with Princess Deyu Tores, on the other, by the discovery that unfortunate people are manipulated by arrogant scoundrels, even if they have supernatural powers.

What does the film teach?

Carter's subsequent actions characterize him as a real passionate, someone who can inspire and unite entire nations for the common good. And at the end of the film, we see a purposeful strong man who can outwit even the demigod puppeteers. Does he look like that original spineless adventurer ?!

In addition, the film colorfully depicts no less instructive images: the irresponsibility of puppet tyrants; science as an extension of nature (application of the special properties of the sun's rays); urbanization - as the depletion of the planet's resources (for example, the self-propelled city of Zadanga); unity of global goals, despite racial differences and traditions (for example, multi-armed Tarks who intervened in the settlement of a military conflict). And now, under a simple shell, it turns out that many useful meanings for a thinking person are hidden.

Violence: Abundant. There is practically no blood; on Mars, all creatures have blue blood, a fairly common solution for films with a teenage audience.

Sex: None, although Princess Mars' outfits are sometimes pretty revealing.

Drugs: There is one scene in which the negative characters are drinking alcohol.

Moral: In the bright shell of the film, an attractive image of the hero is presented. Possessing special qualities on Mars, the main character, even after returning to his world, manages to outwit the omnipotent opponents. He is ready to intercede for his beloved and to reconcile whole nations among themselves for the common good. I believe that the protagonist is a positive example for growing youth and is able to inspire even mature men who have fallen into despondency for exploits.