John Carter doesn't hit the big screen until Friday, but Disney got a jump on the opening by releasing a teaser of the movie's first 10 minutes online.

The film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' fantasy novel tells the story of a military captain (Taylor Kitsch) who is transported to Mars, where he has to save the red planet from evil forces. It's not an original story, but we'll give it a chance.

Critics have positively embraced the $250 million interplanetary flick.

"Neither classic nor fiasco, the film will likely delight sci-fi geeks most of all, but there's enough here for general Disney audiences as well to generate solid box office worldwide," writes The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy.

But Disney has a lot riding on the success of John Carter. In 2010, the company released Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which went on to gross $90 million, less than half of its $200 million production budget. Now that's a box office bomb. Will John Carter suffer the same fate, or will the planets align in the movie's favor?