Total Recall : Mémoires programmées

At the end of the 21st century, the world was rendered uninhabitable as nations engaged in widespread chemical warfare. As a result only two livable areas are left with the British Isles now known as the United Federation of Britain (UFB) and Australia now known as The Colony where the only possible travel is through a massive super elevator called The Fall that goes through the core of the Earth. The UFB, led by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) is experiencing political tensions due to a resistance group led by Mathias (Bill Nighy) seeking independence for The Colony. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) is a laborer, married to Lori (Kate Beckinsale), based out of the Colony who assembles synthetic droids in the UFB and has become disillusioned as his prospects are limited due to living in The Colony. After seeing an advertisement for Rekall which promises pleasant artificial memories Quaid visits the establishment in the hopes of alleviating his frustration. However when Quaid selects the "secret agent" memories the process goes wrong when it's revealed he actually is a UFB/Resistance double agent which puts him into a conspiracy that will determine the future of The Colony.

1990's Total Recall is a benchmark for the Sci-fi/action genre thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger's trademark sense of humor and a script and direction that balance the excessive action and camp with some undeniably smart self-effacing satire. In 2009, it was announced that Kurt Wimmer of the cult film Equilibrium would co-write a remake alongside Mark Bomback. Needless to say many were not enthused by the prospect of a remake of Total Recall as not only is it a classic of the genre, but the fact the original still holds up made people question it's purpose. Many of the cast and crew tried to brush off such concerns with statements like "we're going back to the book" or "it's an adaptation of the original story, not the 1990 film" only to have those statements undermined by the fact characters like Melina, Harry, Cohaagen, and the resistance leader were inventions of the 1990 film and not the original story. Made for $125 million the movie performed poorly stateside making only $58 million, but like many action films was alleviated thanks to the international market which brought its total up to $198 million but was still considered a disappointment when factoring in marketing and distribution costs. Critical and audience reception tended to be pretty tepid with even the most positive reviews like Richard Roeper's B- still emphasizing the enduring nature of the original film, but regardless of how you slice it Total Recall 2012 is a soulless product that bares only a fraction of its predecessor's charm.

I'll say that Colin Farrell is okay as Quaid, he's not given all that much to work with because the script just wants to rush him from one CGI filled action/chase scene to the next, but the moments of him questioning his identity or making personal discoveries such as a scene where he realizes he can play the piano are decent. Aside from that one point however, everything else in Total Recall 2012 is either mediocre or below par. Unlike the 1990 film, Total Recall is an ugly movie to look at. Len Wiseman gives J. J. Abrams a run for his money with the awful "lens flare" effects filling the screen with visual noise and from the initial dream sequence that's filled with painful flashing lights you know parts of this movie will be challenging to look at for all the wrong reasons. The movie also plays itself much more seriously than the 1990 film as it plays the altered memory possibility in a manner similar to how the Jason Bourne films handled that character's amnesia, and the movie takes a very "post 9/11/Bush Administration" approach to its story with the core conflict of the government arranging attacks on itself in an attempt to give itself some semblance of cultural relevance and it's basically a xerox of a xerox at this point because the Prince of Persia movie did this same plotline two years before this movie and it wasn't particularly good there either.

I could probably give some leeway to the generic plot if the characters were the least bit interesting or memorable, but aside from a five minute appearance by John Cho as the Rekall rep who administers Quaid's memories most of the cast are non-entities. Jessica Biel feels lifeless as Melina, great actors like Bryan Cranston and Bill Nighy are given very stock roles with nothing for them to work with, but the real standout (for all the wrong reasons) is Kate Beckinsale as Lori who aside from a bunch of lifeless drones is the primary antagonist for Quaid to fight against and she is massively annoying. The character has basically been created as a merger of Richtor and Lori from the original film but not only is Beckinsale not threatening in the role, but with her constant childish taunting to Quaid and her motivation for trying to kill him being "Cohaagen never stopped talking about you" she comes off like a petulant child who's mad they're not getting enough attention. And despite this movie "not being a remake" the movie reminds you every few minutes of the original film by quoting dialogue from it, recreating visual references, and rather surprising for a PG-13 movie for this era they even bring back the three breasted topless woman.

Total Recall 2012 is expensive and pointless mediocrity. It's a dour emotionally muted film with action sequences that feel more akin to watching someone play a video game than watching a movie and instead of doing anything new or interesting with the material it does a generic bare minimum while reminding you of the original with visual and auditory references. Just watch the 1990 film.

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.

What makes up who we are? Are we the result of our past experiences and memories or does our identity stem from something much deeper? These are questions that the 2012 remake of the classic action film "Total Recall" could have delved into. What we have instead is a showcase of the best and worst of modern science fiction film making. It is Definitely a product of 2012 as much as the original was a product of the early 90s.

The aforementioned themes are only teased but never developed in this intense tale of on man's quest to uncover the truth of his identity and past. In a vastly overcrowded, class segregated future, everyman Douglas Quaid is haunted by dreams of being a secret agent on the run. Convinced that these are repressed fantasies brought on by his monotonous life assembling security automatons (which are like Cyber Stormtroopers) Quaid visits this place called "Rekall"; Rekall claims to implant fake but realistic fantasies into one's mind. So he gets a fantasy of being a double agent implanted. Suddenly, its discovered that he already has memories of being an agent: meaning he actually is an agent with his memory erased. A swat team busts in for some reason and he dispatches them to some beautiful camera camera pans. What follows is "Kurt Wimmer's 'Salt: dystopian future edition - minus Angelina Jolie" (surprise surprise, this movie is also written by Wimmer) with Quaid's wife turning out to be a psychopathic killer, his past a complete sham and his grip on that fine line between reality and fantasy slowly slipping. In the background lies a dastardly plot by a rich chancellor involving the poor dissidents of the overcrowded Colony and the leader of an underground resistance.

The most striking feature of Total Recall would be the stunning vision of this overcrowded future. Floating buildings to make up for scarce land, a country confused by its melting pot of cultures, cyborg police, hover cars, it is amazing. This is a future that seems very real judging from our current world: Strict class segregation taken to the extreme. The dichotomy in the design between the rich and elite United Federation of Britain and The ramshackle Colony is beautifully rendered thanks to the amazing production design headed by Patrick Tatopoulos (the guy who worked on Independence Day, Starship Troopers and Dark city).

A pity that the rest of the movie is fairly typical of modern day chase thrillers. Compared to the original Total Recall film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this remake has Less twists, a less ambiguous ending and lacks the cynical dark humor that made the original so memorable. Instead of keeping it ambiguous as to whether the events unfolding are real or part of Quaid's implanted fantasy, this remake spoils its own mystery for the audience.

Director Len Wiseman brings in all that is good and bad in modern day film making into this movie. He shoots Total Recall with an over reliance on shaky cam and lens flare, almost like a "Paul Greengrass meets J.J Abrams". Think Bourne Supremacy with the visual style of the 2009 Star Trek film. The future is epilepsy inducing, we get it; and sometimes this really distracts from the tip top designs.

The cast is basically a reunion of mist actors that were in Len Wiseman's Underworld franchise. They do an excellent job with the acting and chemistry but the good actors like Bill Nighly felt under utilised. Only Kate Beckinsale was able to truly shine playing Quaid's wife-turned-assassin. Quaid himself is played by Colin Ferrel and is perhaps the only improvement this remake boasts over the original. Schwarzenegger's Quaid was the quintessential action hero but Ferrel's portrayal of the character had a greater sense of peril: he looks nothing like an action hero and this makes his transformation from everyman to savior of the downtrodden all the more powerful.

Whether one finds this a good movie or not depends on whether one can accept the modern trends of science fiction film making. It is the same plot as the original with all the "1990s" elements taken out and replaced with "2012" elements. Art Aficionados will be impressed by the overall look, style and camera-work showcased here. Those looking for a deep meaningful dive into the nature of human identity or even those looking for clever twists or smart dialogue will be let down. Take away the visuals and it's a rather generic, straight forward modern chase thriller.

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.

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%