Total Recall: Mémoires programmées

Though it boasts impressive special effects and decent--if increasingly repetitive--action sequences, the re-make of 'Total Recall' is ultimately undermined by a weak script and dull performances.

Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston are all solid actors, but their performances here lack energy and charisma. Even though the film was attempting to strike a more serious tone than the original, it's no excuse for the nearly comatose acting on display here. It doesn't help that the script fails to supply them with even a semblance of humor or wit. Most egregious of all, it fails to do anything fresh or original with the premise.

Ironically, 'Total Recall' ends up being utterly forgettable.

Despite all of the action sequences, Total Recall is pretty bland. They've removed all of the fun, all of the camp and all of the Mars out of this remake and what is left isn't as interesting. The futuristic technology is interesting and Kate Beckinsale actually makes a good villain, but this movie just goes to show that better visual effects don't make a better film.

...just got back from the new Total Recall.

I, as probably everyone seeing this movie, were big fans of the original Arnie/Verhoeven epic. It still stands as one of the finest examples of sci-fi/action that exists on celluloid.

That being said, I was leery of this remake for pretty much all the same reasons already mentioned by others, foremost being: WHY REMAKE IT?

THAT being said, i was curious enough about the cast to give it a shot.

First off the good: Kate Beckinsale is pretty good as the combination of Michael Ironside and Sharon Stone from the original. She plays crazy psycho wife really well, and her relentlessness was fun to watch.

The FX on screen are pretty spectacular. That city, and the whole elevator between the 2 continents was really really neat, in both concept and execution. The evil robots were kinda menacing and cool, too. And the art direction and set design were top notch.

John Cho actually has a pretty cool cameo, as well.

The bad:

Expecting Colin Farrell and Jessica Biel to be able to carry a movie. Seriously these 2 are about as exciting as milquetoast. I found myself falling asleep during pretty much most scenes that focused on these two. Really the movie's success hinges on these 2 actually being compelling to watch. They aren't.

Bryan Cranston and Bill Nighy do what they can with what amounts to 2 glorified cameos, but they really don't have much to work with. Cranston seems to be having fun, but they both deserve better.

The overriding sense that one comes away with from TOTAL RECALL 2012 is Mediocrity. This flick is the very definition of mediocre summer flick.

It's not terrible, but it's also highly forgettable.

Which is my issue with all of Wiseman's films. At this stage i have a large enough sample size, now.. I will never again pay money in the theatre for anything this guy does.

Fond memories of Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall" kept coming back while watching this remake. Arnold Schwarzenegger's screen presence was also an added plus in the 1990 film, as well as the one-liners, Mars and of course heaps of bloody violence. If you've seen the original, then you know how it goes.

Len Wiseman's remake of the same name replaces Arnold with Colin Farrell, in his first lead action role in years, while eliminating Mars as the backdrop of the action and replacing it with an overpopulated Earth where transportation from one corner to another occurs, literally, straight through the center of the earth. The rugged subterranean mazes of the red planet is replaced with dizzying skyscrapers and lots of sleek, flying cars, not unlike Philip K. Dick's own "Blade Runner" and "Minority Report".

Farrell can act and is definitely a strong action lead and it shows here, as per the beautiful ladies Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel who both show off brawn over beauty here. Alas, everything is taken way too seriously in this version. I have fonder memories of the Verhoeven/Arnold version where one-liners come post-Arnie-kill. Gone. Certain characters are trimmed or even cut completely from the original. Bryan Cranston's Cohaagen makes me miss Ronny Cox even more, and Bill Nighy's resistance leader doesn't stand out compared to the 1990 film. The best thing the screenwriters did is to combine Sharon Stone's and Michael Ironside's characters from the 1990 film into one, and as portrayed by Kate Beckinsale, she kicks serious ass here.

The script is a near complete rehash of the original, save for the setting and the final act of the film. The scene where Bokeem Woodbine's character tries to convince Quaid (Farrell) where he's still in a dream is certainly a standout scene which was very well done. Alas, the majority of the movie is laced with action sequences and sensational special effects (seriously, this is CGI porn) that may get this film a nomination for Best Visual Effects this year. No kidding. While the editing is fast-paced and the cinematography sleek (with a little too much lens flare ala J. J. Abrams), the music score by Harry Gregson- Williams was kind of bland in my opinion. It was just there, does its job, and I didn't care. Where's Marco Beltrami; or even for that matter his legendary mentor, the late, great Jerry Goldsmith when you need them?

Director Wiseman has a knack for action sequences ("Underworld", "Die Hard 4") and it shows aplenty here. Sadly the script could've been a whole lot better, but then again, if they had set it on Mars it would've been a shot-for-shot remake with better characters, but still I would've loved to see action on the Red planet once again. The PG-13 rating is justified, and there are indeed little homages to the original, but overall this remake is nothing more than a fast-paced, popcorn munching good waste of time, with some really nice CGI to chew on.

However, I'd rather watch the old one again. Arnie has a much stronger screen presence than Farrell and it is much more ambitious and has more heart than this sleeker, newer one.

Overall rating: 53%

It is seldom so that a remake is better than its original and then it is usually connected to film quality, low budget etc (e.g. I am not keen on watching black-and-white mono-films, with some exceptions like Chaplin or Lloyd). In this case, the use of state-of-the-art technology does not provide additional value to the storyline; well, Colin Farrell is definitely better than Arnold Schwarzennegger, but Kate Beckinsale vs Sharon Stone - I am not so sure... And casting Bill Nighy for being ca 5 minutes on screen was a total waste of a talented actor. As regards Bryan Cranston, whose character Chancellor Cohaagen is supposed to be harsh and ruthless - he is not convincing, looks like an average top politician. Sci-fi equipment and element fill more time than humans and the ending is also predictable.

In other words, cinemas-TV-Internet are full of similar and far better movies. I would prefer Totall Recall 1990 as well.