John Carter - 2012

After a brief introduction establishing that Mars is not a "dead planet", but rather a dying one inhabited by warring civilizations with great airships, the film begins in 1881 with news of the sudden death in Richmond, Virginia, of John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), a former Confederate Army cavalry officer, who has become an eccentric and wealthy scholar-adventurer. The arrival of his nephew Edgar "Ned" Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) at his "Uncle Jack's" funeral reveals that, in accordance with his own instructions, Carter's body has been put in a mausoleum, which can only be unlocked from the inside. The estate's attorney hands over Carter's personal journal for Ned to read, in the hope that he may discover the reason for Carter's strange behavior and death.

The film flashes back to 1868 and to the Arizona Territory, where Carter is prospecting for gold and having violent encounters with both the 7th Cavalry and the local Apache Indians. After fleeing from both, he shelters in a cave with Colonel Powell (Bryan Cranston), one of his pursuers, and discovers a large quantity of gold. A strange figure (later revealed to be a White Martian Thern) suddenly materializes; Carter kills him and, due to the stranger's medallion, is inadvertently teleported to Barsoom (Mars). There, due to his high bone density and the planet's low gravity, Carter is able to jump fantastically high and throw killer punches. He is soon captured, however, by the giant, four-armed Green Martian Tharks under the rule of Jeddak (King) Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe).....