Today’s quick review: Princess of Mars. Mortally wounded, John Carter (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) of the US Special Forces is subjected to an experimental procedure that transports his consciousness to a reconstructed body on a distant planet. There, his combat prowess earns the respect of Tars Tarkas (Matt Lasky), an alien warrior, and together they fight to save Princess Dejah Thoris (Traci Lords) from the traitorous Sab Than (Chacko Vadaketh).
Princess of Mars is a budget sci-fi action adventure based on the classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The movie follows an American soldier who is sent to a savage alien world whose low gravity gives him incredible strength. Princess of Mars is a fairly competent adaptation of its source material, taking a few liberties with the premise, character designs, and story beats, but preserving enough of the original structure to be passable sci-fi.
However, Princess of Mars suffers from a mixture of low budget and questionable decisions. The special effects are lackluster, and the action is not particularly well choreographed. The compromises the movie makes cut out a lot of what made the original novel memorable. Princess of Mars also has a weak script and flaky acting. Although it avoids any terrible missteps, even its most impactful scenes feel generic.
Princess of Mars holds some appeal to fans of the budget side of the sci-fi genre. It’s missing the dubious charm that other budget offerins hold, but it does a fair job with its material, at least relative to the mistakes similar movies have made. But fundamentally, Princess of Mars is outclassed by any number of other sci-fi or action movies, making it an easy one to skip even for its intended audience.
For a more extravagant, action-packed adaptation of the same source material, try John Carter. For sci-fi adventure with better alien designs, a richer world, and more innovative special effects, try any of the Star Wars movies. For an intricate thriller about a soldier using an experimental device, try Source Code.
[3.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531911/). I give it a 4.0 for modest action, a decent story, and quite a few rough edges.