Total Recall
Disney ’s 2012 epic space adventureJohn Carterwas a box part bomb — and the rage - classicTotal Recallis to fault . John Carterwas thelong - awaited adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough ’s refreshing seriesBarsoom . The movie is base off of the 1917 bookA Princess of Mars , and was retitled to mull the book ’s principal character : John Carter . While multiple element contributed to the flick ’s miscellaneous reception , one key problem inJohn Cartercan be tied toTotal Recall — arguably the determinate portrayal of life on Mars in the sci - fi canyon .
AsJohn Carteris see new audiences on Disney+ , there has been renewed interest in Disney ’s break franchise . Just as theTheMummynot only failed to launchUniversal ’s share monster universebut also make productions to be cancelled , John Carterwas originally intended to be just one installation in a trilogy , with the continuation already in pre - production before the first had its theatrical sacking . John Carterwas so poorly received that the sequel , establish on the novelThe God of Mars , was invalidate .
Related : Why Hollywood Wo n’t Make Sci - Fi Movies Set On Mars Anymore
The Mars adventureJohn Carterwas a visual spectacle and boasted some genuinely exciting action at law sequences ; however , the movie was criticized for being Byzantine and derivative . In reality , the original novels in Burrough’sBarsoomseries were fantastically original at the time of their publication ; however , the series heavily charm the science - fabrication of the 20th and 21st century , and many elements in the tale were reprise in other sci - fi outer space adventures , such as the 1990 movieTotal Recall .
Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s violent sci - fi thrillerTotal Recallis a space risky venture gear up largely on a colonized Mars , and , likeJohn Carter , it was one of the most expensive movies ever produced at the time of its release . WhileTotal Recall ’s screenplay was loosely free-base on a classic taradiddle by science - fiction icon Philip K. Dick , the movie greatly inflate the concept , fleshing out the short story to fill a feature - duration film . In doing so , its film writer added various scene , characters , and ideas , shifting the plot ’s focusing from just Quaid ’s discovery of having implanted memories to a larger cabal on Mars . The bet are greatly raised with the addition of a terrorist plot to ruin the planet ’s atmosphere . One of the most memorable moment inTotal Recallis the characters ' bulging eyesand faces as they struggle to rest the Martian air .
Related : Total Recall Mind - Bending Edition - Best Moments From The Commentary
likewise , A Princess of Mars — the root material forJohn Carter — also has a climax dealing with the loss of standard pressure on Mars . In the book , John Carter must take chances his lifetime to save the planet ’s Atmosphere Plant , with him seemingly succumb to asphyxiation in the unconscious process ( only to awake back on Earth ) . Given how iconic theTotal Recallscene is , it would have been hard for the screenwriters to adapt this plot line forJohn Carterwithout seeming like they were " ripping - off " the previous photographic film . alternatively , John Carterwas give a complex political backdrop and a storyline postulate a secret society and transportation medallions . The result was an overly - complicated story that failed to come across with audiences the direction Burrough ’s books had . Disney had tried to get aBarsoomadaptation give rise as too soon as the 1930s — who knows what could have been ifTotal Recallhadn’t come up out first .
Next : Early 2010s Blockbuster Movies Were Very Different : What ’s exchange
