Out Of This World

It used to be that a movie could have a slow burning effect on audiences, could build both reputation and box office at a rate that would lead to a return on the not inconsiderable investment to the people who backed it.  How times change. With the mentality of a sleep deprived Vegas gambler, high on caffeine and hoping for the jackpot, the trend is for Hollywood studios to offer ever more expensive spectacle in the hope that audiences will not be able to resist handing over their cash and seeing it (ideally) more than once.
 

Every so often they score a mega-success with a film like Avatar, and all the risks seem worthwhile. More often there are duds like John Carter, Disney's ambitious tale of a Civil War vet who suddenly finds himself transported into an internecine feud on Mars.  Based on stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs, released in 3D and at a cost some have estimated at $275 million (with a further $100 million spent of promotion and advertising) the lukewarm reviews and limp commercial performance of the film have led Disney to write off $200 million of its investment.

A rare mis-step from Andrew Stanton, one of the main men at Pixar, this live action adventure boldly went where no director would willingly take it, and all talk of sequels being prepped and ready to go are swiftly forgotten as John Carter becomes a new benchmark for hubris in the surreal world of film.