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If you think you’ve seen “John Carter” before, it’s because you have (sort of)

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Even before you sit down to watch the new Disney film John Carter, there’s something awfully familiar about pretty much anything you’ve seen about the movie leading up to its release. But once the interplanetary action begins to unfold, the déjà vu really starts to set in. The weird thing is, that familiarity comes from many different sources.

These are not the, um, Tharks you're looking for.

In much the same way that the recent Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (read my review here) blurs the lines between fantasy and reality by presenting the works of Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson and Jonathan Swift as non-fiction, John Carter is told from the perspective of author Edgar Rice Burroughs as if he is reading the memoirs of his uncle, the real Carter (Taylor Kitsch). Carter’s abrupt jump from post-Civil War adventures in the American Wild West to the similar terrain of Barsoom plays out in much the same way as 1984’s The NeverEnding Story, with the viewer seeing the action as Burroughs reads it.

Upon his mysterious arrival on this unfamiliar planet, Carter soon learns that there are some big differences between the deserts he was just traversing on Earth and the arid landscape of what we soon learn to be Mars, which is in a Mad Max-like state of unrest as its inhabitants are at odds and its natural resources are dwindling. After some clumsy trial and error, Carter discovers that he has almost Superman-like strength on Mars, and he can leap tall buildings in a single bound. These special powers soon attract plenty of attention from the natives. Though he is unable to fly, the red-skinned humans of Helium (who unfortunately do not talk like munchkins as you might expect of people who live in Helium) have mastered that technique with their floating ships, years before the inhabitants of Carter’s home planet have ever seen such things. (You see what they did there, with the people from Helium being able to fly? Clever.)

Thanks in large part to the beauty and spunk of Helium’s Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), Carter quickly falls in with her people in their fight against the Zodangans (also human) and the Tharks (tall green creatures that look like a cross between the creatures from Avatar and Star Wars‘ General Grievous, with

Should I pet you or run for my life?

Predator-like tusks on their faces). And from the pod race-like scenes to the premise of an unlikely leader and his rag-tag group of allies (including a dog-like creature that is clearly a giant salamander/Boston terrier mix with six legs) trying to unite opposing factions against a common enemy, John Carter has George Lucas written all over it. Or is it the other way around?

The reason so many things in John Carter seem so familiar is because the Burroughs book on which it is based (A Princess of Mars) was a huge influence on Lucas, James Cameron and many other sci-fi and fantasy writers and directors. So its not that this film borrows heavily from other stories, but that those stories have been borrowing heavily from this and other Burroughs works for decades (he’s also responsible for the Tarzan books). Though the movie is an accurate adaptation of Burroughs’ original adventure, and it’s a rare combination of visual accomplishment (in 3-D no less) and an intriguing story, it’s doubtful most moviegoers will realize that movies like Star Wars, Flash Gordon and Avatar likely wouldn’t exist had the John Carter books not been written.

Regardless of that potentially inevitable setback, the movie has a lot going for it. Director Andrew Stanton has proven himself with the animated features Finding Nemo and WALL-E, and John Carter is definitely a great introduction to what he can do in a live action setting. And like so many other live action Disney movies (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea comes to mind), John Carter is sure to become one of those movies that ingrains itself into the minds of children and other adventurous spirits.

Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) is about find out what happens when an Earth guy asks you to pull his finger.

The only weak link in the story comes when a Carter-sympathizing Thark gives him some sort of potion that connects him to Barsoom, allowing him to suddenly understand the planet’s inhabitants, regardless of what language they speak. In turn, they can also understand him despite his Virginian dialect. Though this magical potion and its abilities seem a bit far fetched, at least this movie offers some sort of explanation as to why people from different planets are able to understand each other, unlike many sci-fi and fantasy stories.

But with all the unifying monster-fighting action, the developing love story and visually stunning 3-D effects, John Carter is sure to please most moviegoers, even if many of them think its ripping off all the movies it has inspired. And with ten sequels in Burroughs’ Barsoom series, Disney has plenty of opportunity to create a new sci-fi film franchise.

John Carter. Directed by Andrew Stanton. Starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Samantha Morton, Ciarán Hinds, Mark Strong and Dominic West. Rated PG-13. www.disney.go.com/johncarter/.

“Green Lantern” glows with action despite dim plot

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When it comes to the hierarchy of the DC Universe, the Green Lantern Corps has always been on the periphery of popularity behind the likes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. But just as Marvel has elevated some of its B-level heroes to blockbuster status over the past few years, DC finally gives the most well-known bearer of the Green Lantern ring, Hal Jordan, the big screen treatment with Green Lantern (opening today).

While most of the other recent comic-to-screen translations have tried to legitimize the genre with accomplished directors, respectable actors, well-written scripts and believable takes on otherwise unbelievable source material, Green Lantern (for the most part) is pure CGI-filled escapism. Plot-wise, Green Lantern is surprisingly similar to that other recent superhero hit Thor, with Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) playing a cocky, arrogant and irresponsible test pilot whose Top Gun-like showboating causes problems for pretty much everyone around him. Despite being a seemingly undeserving wearer of the powerful Green Lantern ring, the ring chooses him after its previous wearer dies after battling the fear-mongering, planet-destroying entity known as Parallax (whose guttural growl sounds like the guy from monster truck commercials, thanks to veteran voice actor Clancy Brown).

Borrowing heavily from the original Superman movie (especially in scenes with Jordan and his love interest Carol Ferris, played by Blake Lively) and Star Wars (with the Green Lantern Corps home base of Oa looking like the Mos Eisley Cantina on steroids), Green Lantern has a hard time establishing an identity of its own. And though Reynolds certainly looks the part of the Jordan character previously seen in comics and cartoons, his portrayal of the character comes across a bit hokey, especially when he finally proves his worth as a Green Lantern by overcoming his own shortcomings and inner demons.

Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) learns to wield the power of the Green Lantern

Green Lantern‘s supporting cast, which includes Angella Bassett, Tim Robbins, Geoffrey Rush and British actor Mark Strong as Sinestro, gives the film a little bit of acting clout. And Peter Sarsgaard, who starts off looking a little like Paul Giamatti and ends up looking more like the Elephant Man after being infected with Parallax’s power, definitely turns in an impressive performance as the nerdy professor Hector Hammond. But for some reason, none of that ever totally makes up for the cliched plot and lack of character development.

Oa's intergalactic Green Lantern Corps

Visually, however, Green Lantern has all the makings of a blockbuster summer spectacle, with plenty of glitzy battles that make their way from the deepest, darkest regions of outer space to Jordan’s earthly hometown of Coast City and back out to the edge of the sun’s gravitational pull. Director Martin Campbell is clearly going more for Michael Bay-like action and suspension of disbelief than Christopher Nolan-like seriousness, which reminds us that comic books (and their film adaptations) sometimes still need to be more about escapism than intellectualism.

Green Lantern. Directed by Martin Campbell. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard and Mark Strong. Rated PG-13. www.greenlanternmovie.warnerbros.com.

Review by Jonathan Williams