The original title was going to be John Carter of Mars hence the JCM initials. Based on the novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (the guy who wrote the Tarzan series), it's about a former Confederate calvary Captain, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who stumbles across a mysterious artifact while looking for gold in Arizona that transports him to Mars. (In the book, he is an immortal who dies in one place only to wake up in the other but in the movie he finds a teleportation device.) On Mars, or Barsoom as the locals call it, Carter gets picked up by an alien race called the Thark. Due to the gravitational differences, Carter is imbued with supernatural strength and the Jeddak of the Thark (Willem Dafoe) takes a shine to him.
Meanwhile, the ruler of Zodanga (Dominic West) is out on a mission to rule the planet. Aided by a mysterious man wielding incredible technology (Mark Strong), he demands the Jeddak of Helium (Ciaran Hinds) hand over his daughter, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), in marriage. Dejah escapes only to be caught by the Thark. She and Carter escape with the help of a Thark named Sola (Samantha Morton) and head toward a holy shrine for answers as to how John can get back home.
There's a lot of action so it doesn't feel like a two and a half hour long movie. I would have liked to see more of a puzzle aspect or some form of cleverness but that's because I tend to like movies like that. This is not a bad movie. It is very straightforward sci-fi action so, as long as you don't expect too much from it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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