Directed by:
Len WisemanCinematography:
Paul CameronComposer:
Harry Gregson-WilliamsCast:
Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, Bill Nighy, John Cho, Will Yun Lee, James McGowan, Michael Therriault (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
Colin Farrell stars as Douglas Quaid, a factory worker who visits Rekall, a revolutionary company that can turn his superspy fantasies into real memories. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, the line between fantasy and reality blurs as Quaid becomes a man on the run and the fate of his world hangs in the balance. Co-starring Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston, Total Recall is bursting with mind-blowing action sequences and spectacular visual effects, the ultimate high-energy thrill-ride! (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (11)
Len Wiseman seemingly had all the trump cards in his hands - a well-known and successful book, stars with a wide acting range, a big budget, and new film technology. Despite all of this, he not only failed to surpass Verhoeven's version but didn't even come close to it. And to be honest, I was never even particularly intrigued by the old version; Verhoeven turned an interesting story about hidden identity and complex conspiracy into a pop spectacle that avoids any deeper thoughts. However, it must be admitted that the Dutch director was successful in what he tried to do. Apart from The Terminator, it is the only film where Arnold's acting is somewhat worth mentioning as Verhoeven managed to extract the best from the physical specimen. His trashy aesthetics were interesting, and he consistently came up with catchy scenes and elements and it was never boring. Wiseman attempted to make an action blockbuster but blatantly parasites his predecessor, clinging too much to proven genre formulas, and in a flood of unrealistic action and bombastic spectacle, he fails to surprise or impress. He can't even properly sell his characters. In the end, another typical film came out of his workshop with grand ambitions that it couldn't fulfill. Overall impression: 25%.
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I had forgotten Wimmer's name in the screenwriter column and went into it with no greater ambitions, but also without any fear. So as long as Wiseman reminisces about his childhood spent at arcades, it goes pretty well, although Colin doesn't really enjoy it and Jessica definitely doesn't. The entire film is carried by Paul Cameron's circling camera and Kate Beckinsale enjoying her unacknowledged role as the Terminator. However, it gets worse with each new dialogue that you just can't get out, even if you had half a kilo of coke shoved into your head in Recall, so I found myself smiling at times, even though the creators didn't intend for that to be the case. For a hundred and twenty-five million, it’s a pretty decent ride, but it should have taken at least half an hour less.
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Why?! I'm not saying that this remake of Verhoeven's famous sci-fi movie is completely bad, but it’s completely unnecessary and purely commercial with regards to the twenty-two year old original. What made the old Total Recall special, i.e. the great make-up effects, the atmosphere of an alien planet and the director's sense of the right level of brutality, is reduced here to shootouts and chases in the middle of a future city. And while it works in the first half and the viewer can't even breathe under the flood of action, in the final part everything slowly fizzles out and the repetitive pattern becomes unpleasantly and profusely boring. Farrell tries hard, but, with all due respect, he’s no match for Arnie's stony gaze and swollen biceps, so the only positive additions are the beauties Jessica Biel and especially Kate Beckinsale, who apparently refuses to age and whose lithe body deserves its own star on the Walk of Fame. Wiseman once again proves that he can handle action, but, compared to Verhoeven, he’s a terribly unimaginative and routine director.
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A terribly simplistic and almost painfully naive dystopian sci-fi flick, but when you stop asking questions like “how” and “why”, it sort of works. Visually and technically, it’s very good, but the script is so stupid. With other films, I wouldn’t get over it, but here yes, if only because of the dynamic and original action scenes. Wiseman might not be genius, but if he ever gets a good script, I wouldn’t ignore him.
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The visually arresting first half will tickle the heart of any sci-fi fan. And it doesn't matter that the Asian architecture, the perpetual rain and parakeets are a rip-off of Blade Runner, and the chases with hoverboards are a rip-off of Minority Report. But then, as the minutes tick by, the film makes it clear that the script was written by the infamous Kurt Wimmer, a man with no talent and no creative intelligence, so the mounting annoying clichés and situations like those from the most subpar B-movies quickly cool down the initial enthusiasm. Where the old Total Recall clearly wiped its ass with clichéd Hollywood and was engaging in its ambiguous answer to what is truth and what is a dream, Wiseman's film is dull and woefully predictable. It's like Kate Beckinsale's "terminator" character: visually appealing and energetic, but bluntly direct.
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