#Red martian barsoom movie

He was a bit surly for a Burroughs hero, but they got a little of the Southern gentleman in, and his prowess in battle was perfect. They gave John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) a tragic past, to create a character who was lost in more ways than one when he lands on Mars. Anybody who can get all the minor characters’ names right and very carefully depicts Martian animals according to Burroughs’ descriptions has earned the right to tweak things a little–and I think it was essentially effective, once I figured out what they were trying to do. I’m generally much more forgiving of movies making changes if they also demonstrate that they really, really know their source material. Issus and the Therns show up (albeit in a different capacity) in the second Mars book.

#Red martian barsoom movie

They’re brought up in the first five minutes of the movie and gave me a few bad moments–but I felt better once their mysterious goddess was named as Issus, because then I could place them. The Therns also tie the plot together a bit more, by giving a weapon to Helium’s enemies and presiding over the resulting destruction. So they introduced the Therns, priests of the Martian goddess Issus, who have medallions which allow them to transport between worlds one of the medallions takes John Carter on his journey. Part of me loves it that John Carter just looked at Mars and wished and was there, but I can see how the filmmakers felt they needed to give a more complete explanation. I can only conclude that they felt they had to explain John Carter’s transportation, which Burroughs never does. The movie kept all of that from the book, along with many other details, although they also threw in some extra bits. Adventures involving swordfights, epic battles and a villain intent on marrying Dejah Thoris quite naturally ensue. Not green and without tusks, she’s a member of the red Martians, who look human apart from red skin. It isn’t long before he also encounters the beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. He eventually realizes he’s on Mars (Barsoom), where he meets the Tharks, giant green men with tusks and four arms (Burroughs was the first to have green Martians, incidentally). Out in the wilderness, he finds himself mysteriously transported to a new wilderness, with a red tint. John Carter of Virginia is a Civil War veteran who goes out west prospecting. The plot was essentially accurate to the book. They took a few liberties, as filmmakers will, but the spirit was good. Fortunately, in the end I think it was a well-handled retelling of Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars. Regular readers know that one of my favorite authors is Edgar Rice Burroughs–so I was both eager and wary regarding the new movie inspired by his Mars series, John Carter.