For many Hulu subscribers, the top choice this month is going to be the recently-arrived box-office hit Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. And that is a fantastic follow-up to the three Planet of the Apes reboot films that came before it. But since that movie doesn’t need any help finding a wider audience, our choice for the one Hulu movie that you have to watch in August 2024 is Disney’s adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter.
Burroughs, who is best-known as the creator of Tarzan, innovated many of the aspects we associate with sci-fi in 1912 when he serialized his first John Carter story, A Princess of Mars. Although there were 10 other novels in the series written by Burroughs himself, the John Carter film takes its influence from this tale. Disney wasn’t the first studio to take a crack at the story, but it was the first big-budget attempt… and it failed to make an impact at the box office.
We’re not going to argue that John Carter is a perfect film, as it definitely has some faults. But this movie’s box office performance is not indicative of its quality. It deserves to be rediscovered, and that’s why we’re sharing the reasons why this is the one movie you have to stream on Hulu in August.
It’s the prototype for almost every sci-fi space opera
The disadvantage of inspiring everyone else is that younger fans tend to think that the original is derivative instead of the things that came after it. John Carter had the same problem that Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets had half a decade later. Both of those projects greatly influenced the original Star Wars, and it’s impossible not to notice some of those elements in John Carter.
Disney’s John Carter movie does take some liberties with the source material, but it’s largely true to the spirit of the story as a former Confederate officer finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars. John Carter learns the hard way that Mars — or Barsoom, as the natives call it — has multiple alien and human races. Because of Barsoom’s low gravity, John also has enhanced strength, agility, and the ability to leap great distances. And he’s going to need all of those gifts if he’s going to save his new world.
The cast gives stellar performances
Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins have one thing in common beyond starring in John Carter together. They were also primary cast members in X-Men Origins: Wolverine three years prior to this movie. Kitsch is a much better playing John Carter than he was as Gambit, whereas Collins is one of the best performers in both films. In this one, she gets to play Dejah Thoris, the titular character in A Princess of Mars. You’ll see some of Princess Leia’s influence in the way Collins plays the character here, but she also gives Dejah warmth and personality.
Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston has a small but memorable role as Colonel Powell in the beginning of the film. But many of the notable supporting players lend their voices to the alien Tharks, including Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton, Thomas Haden Church, Polly Walker, and David Schwimmer. Dominic West plays one of the film’s primary villains, Sab Than, and he’s not quite as good as the rest of the cast. But his presence doesn’t hurt the movie.
It’s the closest thing we have to a live-action Pixar movie
Pixar director Andrew Stanton threw himself into this film and co-wrote the script with Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon. Disney seemingly gave Stanton a lot of leeway for what was one of the most-expensive movies ever made for the time. It’s also the closest thing that we may ever get to a live-action Pixar flick.
One of the best things that Stanton brings to the film is a sense of wonder. When John discovers that he’s essentially a superhero on Mars, the entire world around him seems to get bigger. And when we see the giant creatures and monsters that live on Mars, it really does feel like another world. Those kind of moments sometimes get lost in other sci-fi films. And if Stanton’s presence wasn’t enough for Pixar representation, Michael Giacchino — one of Pixar’s go-to composers — provided the score for this film as well.
There’s unfinished business on Mars
Normally, we wouldn’t be happy with a movie that leaves us hanging at the end. But at the time this was made, Disney and co. had high hopes that it could be a three-film franchise at least. John Carter didn’t live up to those expectations, but it did resolve the apparent mystery of the title character’s “death” while using a fictional version of Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) as John’s nephew, who shares his story on Earth.
The final moments of this film promise that John will make it back to his adoptive world, and it finally gives the movie the title it should have had all along: John Carter of Mars. Getting a sequel is the longest of long shots at best. But if the film ever enjoys a major spike in streaming numbers, then stranger things have happened.
Watch John Carter on Hulu.
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