History Film / JohnCarter

* BareYourMidriff: John for most of the movie, and Dejah, all while wearing [[ChainmailBikini a suit of armour]]. ''All'' Martian armor seems to do this, regardless of gender. (Unless you're a middle-aged and out-of-shape Martian, in which case interwoven bandages protect your dignity while acting as a truss.)

* WhatBeautifulEyes: Dejah Thoris.

* WizardsFromOuterSpace: The Therns.

%%* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The Tharks.

* CoolPet: Woola, a bear-sized, ten-legged, super-speedy pug-dog... reptile... thing, who will literally follow you anywhere, occasionally bite people, and predict your every movement.

* HotScientist: Dejah Thoris, by virtue of being Regent of the Hall of Science.

** Lorquas Ptomel (the original Jeddak of the Tharks) was merged with his lieutenant Tars Tarkas.

* WinTheCrowd: In-universe. John makes the Tharks root for him by demonstrating his prowess in the arena.

* UglyCute: While Woola looks like a bear-sized lizard with the face of a bull-dug, his dog-like mannerisms make him incredibly endearing.

* GoldFever: Early in the film, a disillusioned John's only real concern is finding a cave of gold somewhere in Arizona. [[spoiler:In a cruel twist towards the end, he gets what he initially wanted in his return to Earth.]] It's subverted however in that by the time Edgar was contacted, it's clear that John used the gold wisely, [[spoiler:mainly to fund archeological digs in the hopes of finding a way back to Mars/Barsoom.]] with enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

* DopeSlap: Tars Tarkas gives John when they arrive at Zodanga only to learn they're at the wrong city.

* DeathOfAChild: Thark eggs that are late to hatch are considered "weak" and destroyed.

* NotSoDifferent: John's claims of having no cause are mirrored by [[spoiler:the Therns.]]

* InfantImmortality: Averted. Thark eggs that are late to hatch are considered "weak" and destroyed.

* ShoutOut: The very first time we see Dejah Thoris, she's looking directly at the camera in closeup and talking about the nature of Barsoom. This may be a deliberate reference to Princess Irulan's narration at the beginning of Creator/DavidLynch's ''Film/{{Dune}}'' -- and also a parody, since Dejah Thoris turns out to be rehearsing a speech. Possibly mixed with a SelfDeprecation InJoke on the part of the movie makers, as the original opening for the movie was Dejah Thoris giving a long, drawn-out lecture about what was essentially the entire history of Barsoom. It was ''painfully'' boring, and apparently when that was realized they decided to poke fun at their own pretentiousness a bit.

* AdaptationalModesty: In the books most Red Martians wear alot less than in the film, to the point the woman at most wear some strategic jewellery to cover up the naughty bits, even then only for formal events, most wander around topless, Justified as the film is aimed at a more younger audience.

* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: The book explains that all Barsoomians are mildly telepathic, with some individuals having more dramatic abilities; this is why Carter is able to learn the Barsoomian language quite easily. The movie has Sola teach him the language telepathically, but the only explanation she gives is that she's using the "voice of Barsoom", and Barsoomian telepathy is otherwise not mentioned. The Therns use telepathy, but it's natural to think it's special to them as SufficientlyAdvancedAliens.

* GoodColorsEvilColors: Zodanga and Helium has, respectively, red and blue as the colour of their banners and cloaks. In traditional military usage, red denotes enemies, and blue represents allies. Though considering the blue blood of the Barsoomians one might expect them to use the reverse colors.

* MotiveRant: Matai Shang gives an odd sort of one to John, but it's more about their narcissistic, racial supremacist attitude that drives them to strip Mars out of their resources, not the motive itself.

** The movie retains the spirit of the books, but considerably reduces what is now "incorrect" to mention from a hundred-year old story (example from ''A Princess of Mars'' about John: "We all loved him, and our slaves fairly worshiped the ground he trod").

* TranslatorMicrobes: John doesn't understand one bit of the Martian language until he's force-fed liquor that allows him to listen to the "Voice of Barsoom" (i.e. Martian language).

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The Tharks.

* BadassAdorable: Woola.

* BadassLongcoat: John Carter in his first scene.
* BaldOfEvil: All Therns are naturally bald.

* FantasticRankSystem
* FantasticRomance: John and Dejah.

* ForTheEvulz: It's implied that this is more or less the only reason behind the Therns' machinations.
** Alternatively, it's implied the Therns maintain their power and immortality by stealing resources from planets whose civilizations are on the verge of collapse. However, they don't even try to give their victims a chance to save themselves, and actively sponsor the sides that are the most violent and/or brutish.

* GilliganCut: "Tharks do not fly."

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Sarkoja.]]

* LadyOfWar: Dejah Thoris.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous:
** The Tharks have four arms.
** So do the White Apes.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: As with ''Film/Avatar'' and its six-limbed fauna, the film depicts the eight-legged Barsoomian creatures as practically quadrupeds, with the pairs of legs grouped in twos and moving in unison...a rather awkward arrangement, as the creature would trip over its own legs when running!

* {{Deuteragonist}}: [[CaptainObvious John Carter is the protagonist]], Dejah Thoris is the deuteragonist, and Tars Tarkas is the tritagonist.

* AdaptationDistillation: The film weaves in threads from the second and third Burroughs Barsoom books, mainly with the Therns and the River Issus. It also provides an explanation for John's agelessness.
* AdaptationExpansion: How Carter gets to Mars. In the books he projects himself there after inhaling some kind of witch's brew and it's never really explained until the end; in the movie, it's an effect of a piece of Thern technology he found on Earth (which is likely also the explanation for his agelessness).
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: The book explains that all Barsoomians are mildly telepathic, with some individuals having more dramatic abilities; this is why Carter is able to learn the Barsoomian language quite easily. The movie has Sola teach him the language telepathically, but the only explanation she gives is that she's using the "voice of Barsoom", and Barsoomian telepathy is otherwise not mentioned. The Therns use telepathy, but it's natural to think it's special to them as SufficientlyAdvancedAliens.

* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Woola, the Tharks' guard-dog-lizard-thing. John refers to him as a dog when he finds it following him about. Woola has very doglike body language (aside from running impossibly fast speeds in a blur), and at one point makes a noise that is unmistakably a bark. [[spoiler:It's even an EvilDetectingDog -- but John FailedASpotCheck.]] Watch closely when John, Sola and Woola are riding the flying machine: just before they crash, Woola can be seen leaning into the wind with its ''tongue'' hanging out, exactly like a dog with its head out a car's window.

* OhCrap: Sab Than's reaction when his EvilGloating over John is interrupted.
-->'''Sab Than''': No matter, you can still bleed- ''[sees who's taking aim at his ship on the ground]'' ''[[SuddenlyShouting THARKS!]]''
-->'''Tars Tarkas''': [[MoreDakka FIRE!]] ''[The entire Thark horde opens fire on Sab Than's airship]''