John Carter of Mars 10/10 I went to see it last night on a last minute whim with no expectations, and it was surprisingly a pretty amazing Sci-Fi movie. The CGI was fantastic, story was good enough and most of the characters were distinguished and likable. When compared to "Avatar" (which it undeniably will be) it is much, much more entertaining and doesn't try to take itself too seriously. I saw it in 3D and in a giant IMAX-esque theater which really added to the experience, and if you have that choice I'd definitely go and see it.
These are some of Cameron's comments concerning "Avatar" and its John Carter/Edgar Rice Burroughs connection:
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JAMES CAMERON:
“With ‘Avatar,’ I thought, forget all these chick flicks and do a classic guys’ adventure movie, something in the Edgar Rice Burroughs mold, like John Carter of Mars.” (The New Yorker, October 26, 2009)
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“We’re doing this story that takes place out in the rain forest, a very simple story, almost classic in a sense, almost an Edgar Rice Burroughs kind of adventure.” (regarding “Avatar”)
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“It could have been an Edgar Rice Burroughs-type story.” (regarding “Avatar”)
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“Ultimately he becomes a messianic leader who leads them into battle … in the old school Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rudyard Kipling, H. Rider Haggard way. Where a guy kinda wanders into another culture, then rises through the ranks.” (regarding “Avatar”)
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“My inspiration is every single science fiction book I read as a kid. And a few that weren’t science fiction. The Edgar Rice Burroughs books, H. Rider Haggard — the manly, jungle adventure writers. I wanted to do an old fashioned jungle adventure, just set it on another planet.” (regarding “Avatar”)
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"John Carter" will, indeed, be compared to "Avatar," as well as "Lord Of The Rings," "Star Wars," and other similar movies, and rightly so, since Edgar Rice Burroughs and John Carter of Mars was the direct inspiration for all of them. Burroughs may, indeed, be the greatest single inspiration for the entire science fiction/fantasy genre of the 20th Century, and is single handedly responsible for the sub-genre known as "sword and science," (swashbuckler adventures in fantastic realms, with no magic involved)