John Carter

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John Carter

PG-13

Released Mar 9, 2012

2h 12m

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

Tomatometer

236 Reviews

60%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

When Civil War veteran John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) mysteriously awakes on the surface of Mars -- also called Barsoom -- he little expects the adventure that awaits him. Carter reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict among the red planet's inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). As Barsoom is poised on the brink of collapse, war-weary Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that everyone's fate is in his hands.

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Critics Consensus

While John Carter looks terrific and delivers its share of pulpy thrills, it also suffers from uneven pacing and occasionally incomprehensible plotting and characterization.

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J. Hoberman

ARTINFO.com

For the most part, the first "live action" feature by Andrew Stanton, is graphically splendiferous and enjoyably nonsensical.

Feb 25, 2019

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Matt Singer

ScreenCrush

Isn't the disaster some industry observers predicted, but it's not the high-gloss masterpiece some of us hoped for either.

Rated: 5/10

Apr 5, 2012

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David Denby

The New Yorker

A mess.

Mar 26, 2012

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

John rides a rhino into battle, fights great white apes in the arena, and leaps great distances like Superman in the early, original comic books.

Sep 22, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

It’s watchable and, at times, an enjoyable film, just not wowing or immediately satisfying in the way so many of Burroughs’ readers had hoped it would be.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 22, 2023

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

John Carter is a good summer movie in March but, with the exception of that one fleeting segment, it's not a great movie at any time of year.

Mar 16, 2021

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Jakob S

An amazing movie. Great cast and epic performances. Loads of hidden truths to this movie as well that relate to our world. Insane the critics rated poorly. Would’ve been incredible to see the second and third movie. I hope Disney picks this trilogy back up immediately!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/09/25

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Paul S

I like to think this movie is Dune if it was set on Mars. It started a little confusing, and the story was all over the place, but overall, this was a pretty good movie. The visuals were great and the worldbuilding in the movie is creative and mesmerizing. I definitely recommend it for sci-fi, action, and adventure fans!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/07/25

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John F

I grew up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E Howard, David Gemmel and Jeffery Lord to name a few. The Mars Series was one of my favorites. This film was simply awesome, bringing to life the characters I read about as a boy. Casting was perfect both human and martian. The CG was amazing and depicted the story wonderfully. The uneducated critics that gave the movie poor ratings have not a single clue what they are talking about. Honestly from a true fan of Fantasy they did NO SERVICE to anyone that missed out on this epic fantasy and robbed the real fans from the sequel that would reunite John with his Princess. Hoping someone at Disney has the vision to see what an epic trilogy this would make.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/03/25

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Vishesh C

Awesome movie..Ignore the critics

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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Jack D

Sure, it's disney, BEFORE they went wonky. This movie is actually pretty good. Great humor. And the creature that acts like a Dog. Loved it. It's one of those rare gems that slipped through the cracks. Give it a go. It's worth it at least once as a fun movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Success in 2 hours and 12 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Intense Sequences of Action!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $73,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

Full Review

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Andrew Stanton

Director

Taylor Kitsch

John Carter

Lynn Collins

Princess Dejah Thoris

Willem Dafoe

Tars Tarkas

Samantha Morton

Sola

Ciarán Hinds

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Oblivion

53%

61%

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Synopsis

When Civil War veteran John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) mysteriously awakes on the surface of Mars -- also called Barsoom -- he little expects the adventure that awaits him. Carter reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict among the red planet's inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). As Barsoom is poised on the brink of collapse, war-weary Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that everyone's fate is in his hands.

Director: Andrew Stanton
Producer: Jim Morris, Colin Wilson, Lindsey Collins
Screenwriter: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, Michael Chabon
Distributor: Walt Disney
Production Co: Walt Disney Studios
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence|Intense Sequences of Action)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $73.1M
Runtime: 2h 12m

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