A Princess of Mars

I went to see a film I've been anticipating for a year at least: John Carter. I was initiated into the cult of Edgar Rice Burroughs during my teens, and read the entire Mars, Tarzan, Caspak, Pellucidar series... Hell, I've probably read almost everything the old hack wrote. I wouldn't claim him to be a great author in the normal sense, of course, but he was probably one of the most naturally talented storytellers ever. He just churned them out for decades, like a Mozart of cliff-hangers. I always thought that if he'd ever stopped and thought and planned out a book before starting it, he'd have come up with a real masterpiece. But he wrote for entertainment, popularity, and for money, and in that he succeeds.
The film? Well, not the disaster it could have been, or that the critics are saying it is. Rather enjoyable in parts. A decent way to start a series, if that's what this will turn into, but with plenty of room for improvement in later installments. I rated it 7 (out of 10) at IMDb. Though the Dejah Thoris in the film was quite fine, and nothing against the Frazetta imagining above left, were I to cast this film, my choice for the Princess of Mars would run more to the unearthly stylings of the heavenly Ms. Hana Uehara, presented in costume for your viewing pleasure at the right.