Review of Total Recall

'Total Recall' is a 2012 American science fiction film remake of the 1990 film of the same name, in turn loosely based on the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick. Unlike the original film and short story, the plot does not include Mars and exhibits more political overtones. The film blends Western and Eastern influences, most notably in the settings and dominant populations of the two nation states in the story: the United Federation of Britain, and the Colony. 'Total Recall' was directed by Len Wiseman, written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer and stars Collin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho and bill Nighy.

This film really doesn't deserve the terrible reviews it's getting. As a big fan of the original I was skeptical going into the cinema, but to be honest, it is a very enjoyable movie. I'm going to start with what I liked about the movie. For starters the story, it has the same elements as the original film, but at the same time it was totally different. The main parts of the story are the same, but if you played the two films alongside each other, they're hardly recognisable. Which is what I liked, it wasn't just a rehash of a popular film, it was a true reinvisioning. The film felt like a cross between 'Total Recall', 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'I,Robot', which to me is a pretty good combination. The story is a lot more political based, and i like how they added robots into the mix, and the problem of their not being enough space and resources for humanities large population, it creates a setting, a future, that could well be a reality one day. It's about as different from the 1990 film as 'The Amazing Spiderman' was to 'Spiderman' (that's very different). To anyone who hasn't seen the original, the story can be quite confusing, and can take a while to work out what is going on, but it is gripping, and it keeps you interesting all the way through. Now I'll move onto the action and chase sequences. The action is good, if not slightly repetitive. We are given lots of shooting and a taste of some futuristic weaponry. The chase sequences feel very Bourne-ish, which isn't a bad thing; the chase scenes are all really good, even if they do drag on a little bit. By far the best chase seen is the car chase, the cars look fantastic and the whole thing is really well thought out and looks good on screen.

Now to what I didn't like, the cast. I like Collin Farrell, but for some reason, I just didn't connect with his character in this film. His character is annoying and for some reason he just doesn't work as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger's version of the character. Also the two leading ladies, Beckinsale and Biel, look far too alike. Seriously there are some scenes where you have to look at what they're wearing to tell them apart, in all fairness they use this pretty well in a certain scene near the end of the movie, but most of the time, it's annoying and there isn't nearly enough character development. They spend all their time on Farrell's character so no one else gets a chance. I found myself knowing hardly anything about any other character, even Nighy's character who should be a major part in the story, but we find out next to nothing about him.

I hate to say this, but the dialogue for me doesn't work as well in this film. What I mean by that is the one liners. Collin Farrell cannot pull them off as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also the film has a few gaping plot holes, some of which aren't as obvious as others but if you know your science then some of it will annoy you because since a lot of what is involved in this movie is well thought out, but then they go and make stupid mistakes.

All in all it is an enjoyable film, it could have been much better but believe me it could have been so much worse. I really like they adapted it from being set on Mars to being set on Earth, it works really well and gives the film a much more realistic vibe. I like the story, the action and the chase sequences, even if they do drag on. The main thing that kills it is the way the handled the cast, it really ruins it for me. Plus a few other nit-picky things but I would still recommend seeing this film. I am going to give 'Total Recall' a 7/10.

A note to fans of the 1990 film. There are some really good references to the original that you will simply love. Plus here's a warning, the three boobed woman is in this movie, and she looks hot (duh) but she doesn't really fit into the world that has been created, you'll get what I mean when you see it. Although she can be explained, it isn't, and you don't any evidence or cases similar throughout the rest of the movie.