Unconvincing

I went and saw the movie "John Carter" with a couple of friends. I meant to go in with an open mind and low expectations in spite of having something of an affection for the couple of books I read from the series on which the movie is based. I think I managed that, but maybe I didn't, considering that I wound up with mixed feelings about the movie. It was a big, loud spectacle, and God knows I like that. It was also a mess of a story, which I don't go for.

I expressed my feelings on the overly long, complicated story we had just seen, and was surprised to find myself not just the lone voice of dissent but someone who may as well have been speaking a foreign language. Try as I might, I could not manage to adequately convey my feelings about the film's shortcomings. I assume that I failed in communication, because I can't imagine that I'm wrong (as the movie is projected to lose a considerable amount of money).

I don't mean to get into specifics, but I think the film ought to have been somewhere around half an hour shorter and worlds simpler in terms of narrative. It's easy enough to be critical after the fact, but I think that even in advance I would have advised lopping off near twenty minutes from both the beginning and the end, as well as removing frustratingly complex layers of depth from the story. There's more, but I don't want to write it any more than you must want to read it.

The movie's not the point, anyway. I have never felt the power of influence over people. It's all I can do to persuade some people to go see a movie in the first place. I'm just not a opinion-maker, try as I might. It would be a real accomplishment if I ever learn to influence people. Perhaps my own humble readership is where I'll start. Do go see the film and I expect that you will have similar thoughts. If you are able to translate them into words that form an effective argument, please let me know.