Jordan Garren’s review published on Letterboxd:
Caught this at midnight opening night and realized that Disney may have created a flop. (Recent news suggest this is true.) This saddens me because John Carter is a fun movie (that isn't a remake, prequel, or sequel). Fans of Edgar Rice Burrough's books may be annoyed with the changes made, but it it is never a good idea to compare a film to its source material, especially when its been dumbed down a bit to cater to a wider audience (and kids). The effects in the film are very well done but some of the battle scenes feel a bit clumsy (as does the pacing of the film's plot). The villains are dull (as they are in every freakin' movie that comes out anymore) and have vague motives, the music is rather forgettable, but dammit... this movie has WOOLA, John Carter's multi-limbed super-fast loyal space-hound. Also, Willem Dafoe is excellent as Tars Tarkas, and actress Lynn Collins (Dejah Thoris) isn't hard on the eyes at all. This is a fun sci-fi romp that the whole family can take in and most of my complaints about it stem from the changes made from the books. Speaking of which, in the film, we get a better interpretation of how and why Carter can travel between Earth and Mars. On the other hand, the epic "race against time to save THE ENTIRE PLANET" ending of the "Princess of Mars" novel is nowhere to be seen here. Instead of a planet and millions of lives being at stake, John Carter's only motive for heroics here is having some major wood over Dejah Thoris. Actually... that's probably a far purer (and realistic) motive so I'll give the film a pass on this. Go out and see this flick and help save it from becoming a total flop. If this film fails... we may be doomed to be handed more cinematic turds by Hollywood as the months zip by.