Book to Movie: Codex Alera - The Furies of Calderon

Plot: 

Cover of Furies of Calderon

In the realm of Alera, where people bond with the furies-elementals of earth, air, fire, water and metal, fifteen-year-old Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. But when his homeland erupts in chaos - when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies - Tavi's simple courage will turn the tides of war. (Source: Goodreads)

Could it be a good movie?

In my opinion, the "Pokemon" meets "Lost Roman Legion" Fantasy Book could translate pretty well to the big screen. A future writer would have to trim down overtly dragging scenes in the middle part of the book. I really liked the down-to-earth fantasy, which should mirror in a classic movie direction.

My best comparison would be: Avatar - The Last Airbender, both have mythical powers connected to the elements; both world take heavy influence from real history, Ancient China and Ancient Rome, respectively. 

The comparison already shows the trap of a possible film adaptation: this is not for little children. The source material, the TV show and the book, deal with adult themes and dark decisions in a light world, nonetheless should you dumb it down - the audience will punish you for it.

The Last Airbender Movie Poster

Ne Ro over at Pinterest has created a Casting Sheet; head over there and tell me if you agree or not. Some Stars include Nicole Kidman, Ellen Page, Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler.

Book to Movie: The Lies of Locke Lamora

Book to Movie:

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

(4,24 Stars of 5 with 31,201 Ratings - Goodreads.com)

Summary:
Elite con artists "Gentlemen Bastards" rob the rich of Camorr city, based on late medieval Venice. Two stories interweave. In the present, the Gentlemen fight a mysterious Grey King taking over the criminal underworld. Alternate chapters describe history and mythology of Camorr, the Gentlemen Bastards, and especially the protagonist Locke Lamora.(Source: Wiki)

Born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora dodges both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains, neither blind nor a priest. A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected family of orphans “Gentlemen Bastards.”

Locke grows to lead, delightedly pulling off one outrageous trick after another, infamous as the Thorn of Camorr — no wealthy noble is safe from his sting. But the Gray King is slowly killing Capa Barsavi’s most trusted men and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr’s underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the magically protected Gray King at his own brutal game — or die trying (Source: Goodreads)

WILL IT BE A GOOD MOVIE?

by Milena Aijala (a.k.a. qwertyprophecy)

The ingredients are there:

Oceans 13 Jr. meets Pirates of the Carribean

- an engaging plot, full of twists and turns

- interesting characters

- a fantasy world with a mythical history

All the movie needs is a creative, fearless cook, or in other words, a capable director. This is a rather broad statement, I know, every movie needs a good director. The one needed for Locke Lamora, has to be incredibly visual. The world of Camorr - based on Renaissance Venice - is stunningly wonderful and rich.

The challenge would be to reduce the dense plot to movie-length without losing the charm and wit of the book.

FILM ADAPTATION:

Warner Brothers bought the film rights soon after the book's release. The brothers Kevin and Dan Hageman (both having written the upcoming Lego and the sequel Hotel Transylvania 2) were to write the screenplay. Michael De Luca (Moneyball, The Social Network) and Julie Yorn (Red Riding Hood, We bought a Zoo) are set to produce. Both don't have much experience with fantasy works, which could prove difficult. 

Despite additional television rumors, as of 2013, no casting or other announcements have been released. (Source: Wiki)

Film or TV?

Definitely the first! I suggest a movie adaptation, because the single thread of storytelling revolving around Locke Lamora probably couldn't sustain multiple episodes. But with 6 (SIX!) planned sequels (plus two upcoming novellas) "The Lies of Locke Lamora" could prove to be the opening to a stellar franchise. 

Casting Possibilities:

Max Irons - Locke Lamora

He proved to be a big hit with the girls in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and The Host, which could attract more viewers. Irons has the right mix of cunning and charm to portrait the leader of the "Gentleman Bastards".

Jack Reynor - Jean Tannen

The muscle to Locke's Brain, Jean is intimidating and strong. The upcoming star had a few indie hits and now moved on to star in the 4th Transformer movie.

Jeremy Irons - The Grey King

He is the main adversary; the brains behind the dangerous plots Locke finds himself tangled in. Fuelled my motives he is initially unwilling to reveal, the Grey King is ruthless but aristocratic in his mannerisms. (Source: camorr.com) Incidentally he is the father of actor Max Irons, which adds a great dynamic to the movies. Jeremy has a great, commanding presence with the right gravitas to the play the Grey King. 

Christian Bale - The Falconer

Perhaps the most formidable adversary in LoLL. The Falconer is a bondsmage from Karthain with otherworldly magical power, able to inflict extraordinary pain with just a few words and gestures. He is an arrogant, forbidding individual who takes obvious pleasure in the torture of others and works for the Grey King. He also has a bird companion, Vestral, whose violent nature and venom-filled claws augment the Falconer’s formidable presence. (Source: camorr.com) Bale has strong ties with Warner Bros (The Dark Knight Trilogy, etc) and is a great property to attract viewers. Bale has the right ambiguity and "evil-ness" to play this great role.

Francis Lawrence - Director

Lawrence proved over and over, that he is a great storyteller with a keen eye for heavy visuals with his movies Constantine or I am Legend. This was the reason he was chosen to adapt the second and third book in the Hunger Games Saga, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. 

Book to Movie: The Mistborn Trilogy

Wiki: The Mistborn series is four high fantasy novels written by Brandon Sanderson and published by Tor Fantasy between 2006 and 2008. The series consists of the original trilogy of Mistborn: The Final Empire, Mistborn: The Well of Ascension, and Mistborn: The Hero of Ages.

Will it be a good movie?

Yes and YES!

You want me to explain that? Okay...

Sanderson crafted a unique vision with action-packed sequences, interesting characters, many plot twists in a strange and alluring world. The first book is a 'Oceans 11' like crew pitted against an immortal tyrannt. The idea works so well, but is already highly visual and could be easily adapted into a movie.

The second and third book feature a grander scope, while keeping the grounded dynamics of the characters.

Film Adaptation

Brandon Sanderson himself broke the news, that Paloppa Pictures LLC picked up the rights for his fantasy trilogy (Link). Paloppa is a new florida-based company with no prior projects. Thanks to the Mistborn Movie Guide, we know that a third draft was written and that they are looking for a studio right now.

In an interview Brandon Sanderson stated, that he would like Bryan Singer to direct, while Ellen Page is his dream casting for the female protagonist.

This is the 'Mood Trailer' Paloppa put together, to pitch the movie: 

From Book to Movie: The Painted Man

The Painted Man / The Warded Man Movie  
by Peter V. Brett.

Wiki: The novel follows three POV characters in their passage from childhood to maturity. They are inhabitants of a world plagued by the attacks of demons known as corelings, which rise from the planet's core each night to feast upon humans. The ongoing attrition of these attacks have reduced humanity from an advanced state of technology to a 'dark age'. The only defense against the corelings are wards (magical runes) that can be drawn, painted, or inscribed to form protective barriers around human settlements. These are, however, fragile and prone to failure unless properly maintained. (Source)

WILL IT BE A GOOD MOVIE?

The Painted / Warded Man is a fun ride, full of action-packed sequences but with little emotional impact. Additionally, the obstacles are quite easy for the characters to overcome, robbing the reader or viewer of emotional investment. 
Do not confuse this with a Lord of the Rings style epic. The scope is much smaller, the stakes never reach those heights, but perhaps the sequels 'The Desert Spear' and 'The Daylight War' broaden the image.
In my opinion, it could be an entertaining movie with good actors lending depth to otherwise shallow protagonists... although the first news are more than troubling:

FILM ADAPTATION

Back in 2009 The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, that Paul W. S. Anderson (left) and his producing partner Jeremy Bolt picked up the rights for The Painted Man / The Warded Man. Both produced the Resident Evil - Franchise, whose five movies grossed nearly 1 billion dollar in worldwide box office (Box Office Mojo). The critics on the other hand were less than enthusiastic with the latest outing only receiving 31% on RottenTomatoes.

What will this mean for the adaptation of Peter V. Bretts fantasy book? 

Quite possibly with this producing team behind the camera we are in for another cheap and cheesy B-Movie. 

Robopocalypse Book Review

Robopocalypse Book Cover

From Wiki: Robopocalypse is a New York Times best selling science fiction book by Daniel H. Wilson published on June 8, 2011 (New York Times). The author has a PhD in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, and many of the robots in the novel were inspired by real-world robotics research (io9). The epic novel about the human race’s attempt to survive an apocalyptic robot uprising is the next directing vehicle for Steven Spielberg (Deadline, see below).

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

At the end of the war, one of the heroes finds an archive containing the whole story of the start and course of the war against sentient robots. From this point the fight is told from many perspectives, each overlapping slightly, culminating in the fight against Archos, the master A.I.

WAS IT ANY GOOD?

Well, I liked the visual appeal in Robopocalypse and think this is what attracted Spielberg. The language is clear and precise, while the science fiction elements are believeable and frightening at the same time. Unfortunately, the characters are not as well balanced and thought-through.

But I have a little criticsm with how the story unfolds. Right at the beginning of Robopocalypse it is revealed that the war ended already and the complete story of the war is told in flashbacks. At the beginning the author/narrator pretends to only use the files found in this archive, but slowly drifts into the standard omniscient point of view. That's not that bad, but I find it hard to justifiy most of the perspectives from which the story is told. Their importance is told to us by the retrospective narrator and can't develop organically from the story. Some other perspectives feel very forced and unnecessary, especially the ones not in America, fighting against the Big Bad Robot. The retrospective view forced the reader to cencentrate on the how the story is told, not on the what is told, as we already know the result, which

WILL IT BE A GOOD MOVIE?

Goddard and Spielberg should tell the story more straightforward, without the retrospective view and trim away the unnecessary story arcs. In concentrating on the thrilling story of the Resistance and War against the uprising robots the movie will become a visually-stunning, albeit emotionally-flat science fiction action movie. Perhaps Spielberg will find an emotional angle he can bring into the movie, which would be really good.

FILM ADAPTATION

On October 22nd, 2011, Deadline reported that Spielberg (The Adventures of Tintin, Warhorse) plans to direct an adaptation of this book. Drew Goddard (Cloverfield, LOST) has been hired to adapt Robopocalypse into screenplay. The prolific director has also hired designer Guy Hendrix Dyas (Inception) to work with him and his writers on creating the visual tone for the film and conceptualize its robotic elements. No actors have been cast yet.

The film, jointly financed by 20th Century Fox and Spielberg's DreamWorks, will be released in North America by DreamWorks through Touchstone Pictures on July 3, 2013. Fox will handle the international distribution. Filming will start in January 2012 and take place entirely in Montreal, Canada (Deadline).

All You Need Is Kill - Script Review

The Verdict:

The Non-Stop-Action of this Sci-Fi time-loop-movie leaves no room for character development or relationships in favor of huge action scenes, which are entertaining nonetheless.

What's it about?

An unskilled, new recruit dies in his first battle, but awakens one day prior to the battle, myteriously stuck in a temporal loop. He uses these repeats to master the art of killing and tries to win the battle and escape the loop.

Plot Summary [SPOILERS]:

The script starts with Cage jumping out of a burning Dropship into the 'Battle of Ruby Tuesday': Thousands of human soldiers fighting the insectoid Mimic. In this bloody and messy battle we meet Yonaburu, Cage's best friends, Rita, the best fighter in the world (and the female love interest). Cage's first instinct is to desert, which gets Yonaburu and him killed already on page 13. 

Loop 2: Cage re-awakens in the barracks, a day before the fight and can remember all of that happening before. Again, he drops into the Battle of Ruby Tuesday, this time dying, while trying to save Yonaburu.

Loop 3: Cage awakens again. This time he tries to flee, escaping to a near-by beach, where he is found by some scout Mimics and gets killed

Loop 4: Cage is desperate. Trying to break out of this never-ending nightmare, he kills himself.

Loop 5: Cage realises, that there is no way out of this loop. Now he starts questioning the senior offices, gathers information, in order to save some of his friends, but still - he dies.

In a quick training montage, cutting between Cage and his superior office sparring and one Battle of Ruby Tuesday after the other.

Loop 93: The training shows it's impact, Cage survives longer and longer with each try.

Loop 187 & 203: Cage uses his knowledge of all his repeats to get an Battle Axe and with it he can kill the Mimic mother insect, but still dies exactly at 4:19.Cage loses all hope of ever winning the battle or escaping the loop, until Rita asks him: "How many loops is this for you?", shortly before he dies again.

Loop 329: Now the focus of the script shifts shortly, showing us Rita awaking in her bed. Cage finds her and answers her question from the last loop. She explains, that she was stuck in a loop, too. The Mimic have Antenna & Receiver Mimics, which can send signals back in time to warn their fellow mimics, Rita was and Cage is caught up in this signal, so he has to kill it, to be free and win the battle. Cage & Rita kill the Antenna Mimic and all Receivers, but, still, he loops back to the beginning.

Loop 393: Cage & Rita fall in love anew every day, and on the last pages of the script they have something like a relationship in fast-forward. But in this loop the Mimic attack the base, again Cage and Rita kill the Antenna and Receiver Mimic. Then Rita reveals, that she must be another receiver, and kills herself: Cage is finally free and wins the battle.

Script Observations:

Two formal things that bugged me: The script uses many noises, like Shup! Twamp! do describe the action going on. I am not sure, if I like this, but it reads very weird. Aside from that half of the words are CAPITAL, it feels like they are screaming at me. Not pleasant.

Back to the artistic choices, the script presents: The writing is dense and spot-on, as it is always focused on the action.

Something strange happens on page 39: Suddenly we have a Voice Over by the main protagonist, explaining all the background information in a huge dump for 5 pages. After that the Voice Over is used quite regularly, but it seem to appear out of no-where.

Shallow Relationships: Cage is stuck in a battle zone, always fighting and dying. This leaves not much room for a romance, so it feels kinda forced, when he suddenly has a full-on relationship with Rita (10 pages before the end, of all places, just to make us feel sad when she dies 2 pages later.

Generic Alien of the Week: The idea of aliens sending messages back in time to win battles is really neat, but other than that the Mimic are as bland and uninspiring as they come. Their aggressive behaviour, for example, isn't explained or discussed.

The Solution: I really hoped, that the solution to winning the battle and escaping the loop is surprising and refreshing, but, alas, it is fighting harder and killing more Mimic than before. It feels like a wasted chance. Afterall the script is trapped in the same militaristic view as the Ender's Game script I reviewed. The bland enemy reduces the action to routine killings, as we have in ego-shooters, as the reader has no emotional investment in the fights. As such, it feels a lot like the Halo Script, which also had non-stop action without an emotional core.

The Project:

Warner Brothers bought the spec script for a low-seven figure  from Dante Harper (Deadline: Hollywood), shortly after that, Doug Liman was slated to direct the movie for a 2012 release ( Variety). The spec is based on the 2004 novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (Wikipedia). 

As the hunt for the lead actor has started, two names have been popping up: First Warner Brothers offered the project to Brad Pitt (Vulture). To be honest I can't see him doing such a mindless popcorn flick, on the other hand is was revealed, that Tom Cruise is in talks to take over the lead (THR). Cage is described as being 20, so both actors would be too old to take over that role, most probably there were changes made to the script to accomodate this.

Warner Brothers wants to get a huge star, as the movie will cost them about 150$ and to get the money back WB wants a big name attached to the posters.

As always, I look forward to hear from you. Post your comments without registrations below!

Have a great day,

- Tristan

ZergNet

Fahrenheit 451 (Remake) - Script Review

The Verdict: One of the best-written scripts I read, it offers a special-effects heavy update to the timeless classic, while being less subtle than Truffaut's film version.

What’s it about?
In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task. (Source: IMDb)

Plot Summary [SPOILERS]:

The first scene introduces us to the Fire Brigade: lead by Montag and Captain Beatty they search a house and soon find books, which is a major crime in this future. Relentlessly they burn the books and the house and arrest the family. 

We follow Montag on his way back home, when he meets Clarisse, the nine-year old neighbors’ girl, they talk and befriend each other. Back at home, Montag finds his wife, Millie passed out from an overdose of levelers. Medics come and resuscitate her, although the next morning she doesn’t remember a thing and doesn’t even want to talk about her apparent suicide attempt. Millie only wants to watch her interactive soap opera.

Back at the station, Captain Beatty tells Montag that soon he will be Captain of the Fire Brigade, before they leave for another emergency. They arrive at an old Victorian house and find thousand of books stashed away in the walls. The owner of the books, an old woman, chooses to die with her books and sets them on fire herself. Montag is shocked by the death of the woman: he can’t understand why would someone choose to die for something illegal? In the aftermath of her death, Montag finds two books and takes them. On his way back home he gets paranoid and gets into trouble with the police, but Clarisse helps him out. He confides in her about the books and gives her one of the books. At home he starts reading, but the next morning his wife finds the book and gets really furious at Montag. As he can’t convince her to keep quiet about it and help him, Montag takes the book back to the Fire Brigade and burn it. But too late! Montag has entered a new world and doesn’t want to leave. He starts stealing books on every deployment and stashes them at home.

One night Montag wakes up and sees Clarisse’s house being burned down. Someone found the book he gave to her. Now, Clarisse and her parents are on the run and of course Montag feels guilty for this. He seeks out Clarisse’s uncle, Faber, who was known for being a rebel a long time ago. With Montag being a Fire Officer, he doesn’t want to talk with Montag, but he forces Faber to take the books he salvaged and stashed away. A fragile bond forms between those two men. Montag has changed, his love for books, changed his way of looking at his job. At the next deployment the crew arrives at Montag’s home: Millie turned him in and now Captain Beatty forces Montag to burn down his own home. Beatty also knows about Faber and in an act of sheer hate, Montag kills Captain Beatty with his flamethrower. 

He can warn Faber to flee before the police arrive and the two men, now most wanted criminals, meet at an old abandoned warehouse. Soon the police have them surrounded and a heavy siege starts, Montag can flee, but Faber dies in the hail of bullets. The police is so desperate to find Montag as fast as possible, because the whole world is watching them via live TV, that they stage his death and kill some random homeless man.

Montag is free! He follows the river, just as Faber told him, and finds a group of people living in the mountains, outcasts just like him. There he find Clarisse and her parents among those people, who memorize books to save them from being destroyed. 

While they travel further away from the city, the city gets nuked and totally destroyed.

Observations:

The Dilemma: What I really liked about the script was the chouice presented to Montag. His future at the Fire Brigade looks really bright, he has a nice home, but still something keeps nagging at him. The decision to take that book and read for the first time, has so much weight, it such a profound moment with consequences Montag couldn't have imagined. But it is his decision to take that book! The characters grows immensely in this moment, because he isn't thrown into the world of the second act, but decides to take that step himself.

The Project:

In 1966 Truffaut filmed a adaptation of the Ray Bradbury novel of the same name.

The plans for a remake started in 1997 with Mel Gibson wanting to produce, star and/or direct the new adaptation/remake. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were rumored to play the lead role. In 2001 Frank Darabont revived the project (this his script!) with Tom Hanks in the lead role. In 2008 Hanks left the project and since then nothing new happened. If this will ever get made depends on finding a star for the lead role of Guy Montag. (Source: Wikipedia)

So, as always I encourage you to comment on my post, just choose 'Post as Anonymous', if you don't want to register first. Looking forward to your critism...

Have a nice day,

Tristan

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Remake) - Script Review

Post based on the remake script '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' by Craig Titley, July 2007, second draft. This is not the final film version!

The Verdict:

The script is a very entertaining, action-packed throw-back to the good ol’ adventure movies, with lacking characterization of the main protagonists and an unclear enemy force.

What's it about?

Ned Land is taken aboard the Nautilus and helps Captain Nemo retrieve the keys to an ancient civilization, which holds priceless treasures and the most dangerous weapon of the world.

Plot Summary [SPOILERS]:

India, 1857: Prince Dakkar tells his son about the wonderful mysteries of life, while his beautiful wife watches over them. Later that night the British general Anson will kill all three of them in cold blood.

10 years later: Rumors of a giant monster frightens the west. Under the lead of Commander Farragut an expedition is send out by the Royal Navy to kill the beast. The Commander forces Ned Land, the world-best harpooner, to join his forces or rot in prison for the rest of his life. Julie Fleischer, the only woman with more than one line in this script – and of course the love interest – smuggles herself aboard the ship, in the trunks of the marine life expert Professor Annorex, because her father was killed in the last attack by this monster. The ship sails to the last attack site of the beast and is promptly attacked by it. It turns out to be a huge iron submersible called Nautilus. The only survivors, Ned, Julie and the Professor, are taken aboard by Captain Nemo and stay there for weeks.

Nemo stole a map from Julie’s father, who was an archeologist, and tries to find a treasure in a Sumerian temple. While Nemo retrieves 6 ancient keys, Ned and Julie try to flee, but are attacked by Ottomans and have to return to the Nautilus.

Captain Nemo takes the ship back to it’s base, an old volcanic island in the middle of the ocean. Nemo reveals that he funded the work of Julie’s father all these years and was a good friend of him. Now he tries to finish his work of finding an ancient, highly-developed culture, but he has to find a missing 7^th key. Coincidentally, Julie has the map of this key memorized and can lead Nemo there. But not before Ned and Julie make out for a bit…

The last key is hidden in the Antarctic ice and soon after Nemo, Ned, Julie and the Professor arrive there, they are attacked by General Anson, who wants the power of this ancient civilization to himself. The wounded Professor is left behind and now helps General Anson to stop Nemo. But he already has found the last key and takes course for the Lost World. Deep in the ruins of this civilization Nemo finds the Eye of Shiva, when bringing it back to the Nautilus, they are attacked by Giant Squid.

Now Captain Nemo reveals his true plan, he wants to use the power of the Eye to kill every human being as revenge for his killed family. He abandons Ned on the open sea and returns to his base. Ned follows them, while the Nautilus is overpowered by General Anson, who discovered and conquered Captain Nemo’s hide-out. To make matters worse, a new expedition under the command of Farragut also discovered the islands and starts bombarding it. While Ned fights and frees Julie, the Professor and Nemo, General Anson activates the Eye. It’s power summons a huge, roaring storm over the small island. General Anson tries to escape on an airship, but is killed by Captain Nemo. Farragut’s attack damaged the Nautilus, so Ned has to go out in a diving suit and de-activate the Eye of Shiva. He succeeds, but the Nautilus – with Captain Nemo aboard – falls down a deep chasm. The End.

Observations:

Unclear enemy force: I feel, there a few too many antagonistic forces at play in this script. On the first page General Anson is introduced as the main evil force. But in the middle of the script, his ottoman henchman does all the work and General Anson is only in the background. After a while Farragut comes into the play, another British Navy officer, whose only job seems to be to be a disruptive factor for everyone else. I wonder why the script writer put him in? In the last part Nemo also develops evil traits, threatening to destroy the world, which makes sense, regarding his personal history. As motivation for the character it is interesting and a nice twist at the end, but the threat is never addressed after the attack by Anson and just vanishes. This feels shallow and lacking.

Lacking Characterization: Who is the main protagonist? It clearly should be Ned Land. He gets dragged aboard in his Call to Adventure, he has the love story. But he only follows Captain Nemo. Ned develops no agenda of his own and no motivation to do anything in this script. Captain Nemo on the other hand gets a tragic back-story, has a clearly defined goal to pursue, but along the way also seems to be evil. So, the script is split between two characters: Ned, the flat archetype of a movie hero and Captain Nemo, the tragic, but ultimately corrupted prince, pushing the story forward.

The Project:

The script is based on the classic science-fiction by Jules Vernes, published in 1870. There were a few movie adaptations starting in 1907 with a silent short film. The most famous adaptation, produced by Walt Disney, came out in 1954, but there are dozens of other movie and TV versions of this tale.

Titley (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) wrote this version of the script for Sam Raimi to produce, but nothing came of it. After McG had a go at it, David Fincher (Se7en, The Social Network) is now directing this Remake/Adaptation, to be released in 2013.

I am looking forward to your comments! Just choose 'Anonymous' and you don't to register just to write a comment. 


Thanks for reading,
- Tristan

ZergNet

John Carter of Mars - Script Review

Post based upon the script by Ehren Kruger, previous draft by Mark Protosevich, dated September 7th, 2005. This version will not be used for the final film!

The Verdict: A mediocre Science-Fiction Action movie, that can't deny it's pulpy origins, but it is entertaining nonetheless.

What's it about?
John Carter, a special force soldier, is magically transported to Mars and finds himself in the middle of a planetary war. Now he has to chose his side and fight his way back home.

Plot Summary (Spoilers!):

Present Time, deep in the african jungle: Captain John Carter and his Sergeant, Powell, are on a mission to free a village from rebel fighters and find strange glowing gems in one of the huts. A little boy leads them to the cave, where these gems were found and Powell falls down into the deep cavern. John Carter follows him, but only finds more of these strange gems, which suddenly begin to glow. Carter now sees the time turned back and is transported to the red deserts of Mars.
He is captured by the Tharks, 4-armed, green-skinned warriors. Soon, John Carter proves to be a viable warrior himself, largely due to the low gravity, which gives him the ability to jump very high.
When suddenly a damaged airship of the Helium arrives in the city! The vile King of the Tharks opens fire, although on board of this ship is the Princess of Helium offering an alliance against the Zodanga, who threaten to destroy them both. John Carter can save Thoris, the princess, and she tells him about the 'Atmosphere Plant', a huge complex that controls the weather and water on Mars. Sab Than, the leader of the Zordanga, wants control over this facility, but this would mean the end of the Tharks and the Helium. Together the flee from the Tharks, before Sab Than can reach the city.
On the way through the desert John Carter finds out, that Powell reached Mars hundred years before him and is dead for a long time now. But when Sab Than catches up with them in the territory of the Warhoons, a primitive species of Tharks, it is revealed that Sab Than is in fact Powell. John Carter refuses his offer to join him and conquer Helium and the Atmosphere Plant and is left behind to be killed by the savages, while the princess is abducted by Powell.
In a totally absurd set-piece John Carter has to fight Gladiator-style in a Warhoon Arena againt gigantic ape monsters. He can escape and returns to the city of the Tharks, where the King is challenged killed in a duel. Now the Tharks form an alliance with the Helium and together they can fight back the Zordanga.
But Powell already has the key to the Atmosphere Plant (which was the Princess' naval ring all along!) and Carter follows to stop his old friend from seizing control over Mars. Inside the facility they fight, Powell is killed and John Carter is send back to Earth. But not to his time! He finds himself in the middle of the Civil War. 
Being granted near immortality, Carter waits until he can return to that cave and then transports back to Mars, to be with his love, the Princess of Mars.

Observations:

Pulp Origin: Shining heroes and scantily clad women, savage warriors, mysterious gems and time travel. That's pulp for you! Like the Conan the Barbarian series John Carter of Mars doesn't want to be something else than an entertaining blockbuster flick, but still feels out-dated and cheesy sometimes.


Too similiar to Avatar? While reading the script I had to think of Avatar all the time. An innocent man learns they way of some native people, learns their language and traditions and then has to fight with them against a superior enemy lead by an old military friend. There are giant birds/dragons tamed by Carter and used to attack the enemy. I know, the Barsoom Series was published long before Avatar was written and if anything, Avatar took some things from the Edgar Rice Burrough novels. But still, it could be a though sell now, that almost everybody has seen Avatar and will inevitably see the similarities.


The Project:
John Carter of Mars has a very long histoy: Already in 1931 MGM started shooting an animation movie based on the novels. The script was written by the author himself, Edgar Rice Burrough, but the project came to a halt, because the test footage received negative reviews.
The next try took place in the 1980s, but the technology wasn't advanced enough to bring the world of Barsoon to live.
In 2005 Paramount started production with Robert Rodriguez, who soon had to be replaced by Jon Favreau, who made most of the changes to the reviewed script. When Favreau left to make 'Iron Man' instead, the project stopped once again.
The latest and successfull effort to bring the novels onto the silver screen, was started by Disney in 2007. Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon wrote the most recent draft of the script for the director Andrew Stanton (known for 'Wall-E' & 'Finding Nemo'). This will be his first non-animation project. The movie will be released on the 9th of March 2012.



Official Trailer:

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References: A Princess of Mars - Novel (Wiki); IMdB; Wiki of the 2012 film;

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