Total Recall (I) (2012) User Reviews (689)

No Mars, No Mutants, No soul

[Legendary_Badass · 5/10 · 3 August 2012]

I'm very much anti-remake. If the original worked, leave it alone. In the case of the 1990 Total Recall we had what was built to be the biggest movie yet made starring the biggest movie star around. Yep, that sounds like a viable candidate for remaking.

In a future where most of the Earth is decimated, Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) can't shake his adventurous dreams. He heads to Rekall where vacations come in the form of memory transplants. In the process of becoming his own secret agent, Quaid discovers that his life is a lie. Wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale filling in for Sharon Stone but doubling for Michael Ironside and offering the best performance of the film) leads a chase to capture the awakened Quaid. Meanwhile freedom fighter Melina (Jessica Biel) attempts to persuade Quaid into finding his true identity and leading the cause against oppression.

This version of Total Recall does feature some upgrades. Of course visuals have come a long way. Where the original only had one computer-animated sequence involving primitive animated X-rays, this version has all the bells and whistles. There are maglev cars, a myriad of elevators, and a multitude of future housing developments. The art direction is noteworthy albeit not entirely original these days. You can see a frame of the 1990 version and understand immediately what you're looking at with its consumer-ready technology; do the same with this movie and it's another film looking back at Blade Runner. Fight sequences and most of the action come across as deft, if not too numerous.

The omission of the plot to free mars creates a chasm of asinine edits. The people at peril are never characterized. Since they aren't sassy mutants, there's trouble in understanding the context of early fan service. Only two inhabitable territories exist in the world. The Colony as it's called (Australia) fills in for Mars but since it's the early setting of the film there isn't anything majestic about reaching it. The film hops between the Colony and the controlling British Federation with early going ease that it fails to divide acts.

The lack of Arnold Schwarzenegger helps one appreciate Arnold Schwarzenegger. For someone considered a bad actor, we never actually won a Razzie—he actually got an honorary Razzie for failing to win the award, but did get a Golden Globe. Like Sylvester Stallone, Schwarzenegger's typical role at the time of the 1990 original, exuded masculinity. However, the difference is in the touches of humor that always cropped up in the Schwarzenegger films. One can't watch Predator without shouting to get to the chopper. Transversely Stallone's Rambo never brings the fun factor. Looking back at Total Recall (1990), little touches from Arnold make even the most gratuitous of Paul Verhoeven gore strangely comical. That odd nature interjects the ardor today's films overlook. This remake is clinical. No mars, no mutants, no soul.

action, action, more action, till we're numb

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 11 August 2013]

Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) lives in the crowded colonial Australia with his wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale). He travels to his factory work in Britain thru The Fall, an elevator through the center of the earth. He builds security robots with his friend Harry. He goes to Rekall to implant a created memory as a vacation. All hell breaks loose. Melina (Jessica Biel) is a resistance fighter.

The 1990 original has Arnold Schwarzenegger in campy iconic fun sci-fi action movie. In this one, director Len Wiseman drops any sense of camp or light fun. Arnie's light humor is missed. There is some good action but no chemistry between anybody. The movie doesn't stop for a moment to take a breath. It's either action, action, action, or explain, explain, explain. The ending runs on, and on, and on. Basically it takes too long to finish.

Now we come to The Fall. It's a visually interesting idea, but it makes no real-world sense. It looks good. It has good visuals, but IT MAKES NO SENSE. If The Fall delivers you to another planet, that would be better as a sci-fi concept.

I expected a semi-decent film, and that's what I got

[Ben_times_10 · 7/10 · 2 August 2012]

When I heard the news that Total Recall was being remade, I was just as disappointed as most were out there. However, I never hate a film based on such a simple principle. Before the release, I was simply curious as to what direction they were going to take with this film.

I always rate a film on two scales: The technical aspects (an objective scale), and if I actually liked it (subjective scale). I'm pretty forgiving with science fiction films so I'll keep my review as objective as possible.

Pros: The futuristic world that has been imagined for this film was well designed. Visually, the film is stunning. If you're the type that reads into the quirky inventions you see on screen, this film is littered with them.

There were plenty of action sequences, and most of the time the film gave us eye candy that we haven't seen before. It seemed as though a general theme in the film (besides "questioning what's real") was constant play with gravity. This may have been influenced by inception, but the world turns upside down a few times, and it's visually interesting.

Cons: The plot. It was there, but not as deep as you would hope for a "Total Recall" remake. There were a few cool things thrown in there, but the plot was definitely not the strong point of the film.

The action sequences. There were a lot of positive aspects to all the action, but the movie seemed to rely too heavily on it. The movie came off as one giant chase scene, and it became slightly repetitive after a while. If you like a little meat on your plot's backbone, you may want to lower your expectations a little bit before seeing this one.

Conclusion: Try not to think of this film as a literal remake of the original. Think of it as analogous to a band doing a cover of someone else's song... in a very different style. It lifts the ideas from the original film, and written source material, but takes a different spin on it.

In all, I liked it. I had my quips, but it's a movie that I gave a lot of forgiveness. From what I recall, it wasn't a TOTAL mess.

A Nutshell Review: Total Recall

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 2 August 2012]

I guess the floodgates are now open. Adapting Philip K. Dick's stories are no longer enough, and now a trend may follow either to remake the films that have already been done, to give it another spin for a new generation, or how about remaking all of the films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, starting from Conan, and now Total Recall. For sure, Colin Farrell can't step into the ex-Mr Universe's hulking frame in playing the construction worker turned double agent Douglas Quaid through what would seem like a fantasy walk in the park for the mind gone all wrong, but if you'd put away your memory of the past film, then his outing here would stand out against his recent slate of projects, bringing him back to action-hero mould even if Len Wiseman's vision here turned a little bit suspect.

Fans of the original film will see only slight similarities in this one, since it took on a different adventure altogether after the familiar introduction. Quaid experiencing a nightmare of a dream only to wake up beside the sexy wife in Lori (Kate Beckinsale, in a role played by Sharon Stone previously, in lingerie no less), and finding that there's probably more to life than just home and work. Enticed by the fantasy inducing company called Rekall where one can live out one's fantasy for a fee, Douglas soon discovers he got more than he bargained for. The contraption's design got brought over, and so did the cult favourite in the three breasted woman, which Singapore back then didn't get to see at all because our censors found it offensive and unreal. The identity mask also has another go, although with less fun, being solely functional and little else.

But what was sorely missed in this remake, is the quip after quip of Arnie-isms, those puns made each time Douglas Quaid did something smart alecky, dispatched an opponent, or just wanted to drawl on something in his Austrian accent. In the typical Arnie movie, there's always room for fun, jokes, and those legendary one liners. Here, all we get are dead serious moments, with the whole look and feel being laden with the need to feel all gritty. Colin Farrell wears a scowl throughout, being perplexed and confused about his true identity in Jason Bourne style complete with mysterious artifacts stored in a safe deposit box, and having doubts to the role he has to play in the entire battle between the Haves and Have Nots.

This Total Recall requires that you junk all memories of the Schwarzenegger film, in order to enjoy the new narrative involving a chemical fallout across all lands save for Britain and parts of Europe now being part of a Greater Britain, and Australia, known as The Colony (yes, some slight historical references here). There's no Mars this time round, as the story gets set strictly on Earth, involving a carnival styled train service that commutes between the two territories, having to pass adjacent to the Earth's core, for some nifty CG effects involving gravitational force reversal.

CG seemed to be what Director Len Wiseman ordered for the film, with green screen effects and CG laden landscapes peppering the entire movie, that makes you wonder about the tagline "What is real?" indeed. It's big on action sequences and slight on actual story, with pauses only to allow the film to breathe a little, before embarking on yet another stunt sequence that involves plenty of running for Douglas Quaid, and his new found love interest / revolutionary partner Melina (Jessica Biel), as they escape from rooftops to elevators, pass through deadly three dimensional elevator shafts and tunnels, fighting their way past synthetic troopers ala Star Wars. It does get pretty generic after a while, that these sequences all start to look very much the same, and probably a Star Wars: Clone Wars episode gone wrong.

Also for the tagline of "What is real?", this remake doesn't really keep you in suspense in a what is, and what is not thought, because for this new generation of audiences, Len Wiseman probably considered it best if everything was spoonfed. So there's no need to guess, and everything got explained verbatim, that you'd know whether it's real, otherwise, and just about every plot and character twist being laid out for all and sundry. Between the two female leads, Kate Beckinsale got more screen time for obvious reasons, though it's not everyday that we get to see her in a negative role. It's clearly expanded here, with her Melina being something of an amalgam of the roles played by Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside as the relentless pursuer of Douglas Quaid, adamant in hunting him down and finishing him off, against orders.

Ultimately, Total Recall 2012 is one big amusement park ride. This will probably be enjoyable for anyone in for an average CG action adventure extravaganza and have no knowledge of the fun blockbuster the first one was, but for the rest of us who have seen Paul Verhoeven's version, this one definitely pales in comparison, in story, action and just plain fun. And Arnold Schwarzenegger was in his prime then, with big shoes that didn't get filled this time round.

Externally impressive, internally shallow

[BeneCumb · 6/10 · 12 January 2013]

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.

'Recall' is forgettable

[Fluke_Skywalker · 6/10 · 15 January 2014]

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.

A soulless, hollow viewing experience

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 8 December 2014]

TOTAL RECALL, a modern-day adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story WE WILL REMEMBER IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, is the second filmed version of the material following on from the 1990 Schwarzenegger movie. Unfortunately, it pales in comparison to that movie in every respect. In essence, this film can be summed up as follows: action/CGI/CGI/CGI/action/action/CGI/CGI, repeated ad infinitum.

It turns out to be a soulless and hollow viewing experience, one which lacks depth and the kind of drive to make it an exciting production. Instead it plays out superficially, never deeper than the level of a comic strip, refusing characterisation at all times. Unforgivably, it also excises all of the good stuff from the Arnie movie: the humour, the satire, the background, the sci-fi elements, the violence, and the effects.

What we're left with is one long chase movie, augmented by endless CGI effects which lose their impressiveness about five minutes in. TOTAL RECALL is a movie which makes the classic Hollywood mistake of imagining that bigger effects = better action (think of TRANSFORMERS, 2012), whereas those filmmakers who realise that greater intensity = better action (THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, THE RAID) do far better. Colin Farrell is humourless in an uninteresting lead role, while Kate Beckinsale gives an embarrassingly wooden performance. Other actors, like Bryan Cranston and Bill Nighy, are given so little screen time that they barely register. In fact, the only parts of this I really enjoyed were the in-jokes referencing the earlier classic movie.

Is EXACTLY what its mean to be - a THRILL RIDE

[DJayXIII · 8/10 · 10 August 2012]

Before seeing this movie, I read many reviews. Many of them were giving this film a poor rating, stating that it doesn't come close to the original, stating that it doesn't have this or that, etc. I decided to ignore the reviews and form my own opinion of the movie - which is what you should do as well...

First of all, in my opinion, this movie is not a remake - it seems more like a Reboot. Same concept, some of the same characters, story line has changed. Once you can accept this movie as a standalone and not compare it to the original - I believe you will be very pleased.

Special effects are wonderful, Story was fast paced and exciting, actors are some of the best in the industry, and to me - it was a Thrill Ride from beginning to end.

The only reason I give it an 8 instead of 10 is because I wish the movie had been just a little longer for character development and so that the movie didn't feel so rushed. Aside from that, I thought it was a great movie!

Watch it and form your own opinion!

Remake shows all the pros and cons of modern film making trends

[xamtaro · 7/10 · 8 August 2012]

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.

White bread

[christophersarles · 2/10 · 11 October 2020]

The graphics were OUTSTANDING, the story was weak and pointless, at least the first one gave reasons WHY the main character had been erased, in this one it's some vague resistance.. it's just one long chase scene, one in which you don't care who is chasing or who is being chased. I can only imagine the actors spending months in front of a green screen, because only about five minutes of this movie doesn't involve endless, outlandish and impossible chase scenes for no reason. Watch it some rainy Sunday when you want to kill two hours but don't expect much in the way of a plot

This remake of Total Recall is a fine thriller in its own right

[tavm · 8/10 · 7 August 2012]

Okay, a few years ago I rewatched the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Paul Verhoeven version of Total Recall and gave it 10 stars. So I just now watched the Colin Farrell-Kate Beckinsale-Jessica Biel version and while I still prefer the previous version, this one wasn't so bad either. I mean, there are hardly any one-liners that Arnold did like that "divorce" line he gave to Sharon Stone then but there is still that dangerous edge that the original had that made this a worthy remake to watch. And the ending also provided a different twist than that of the original so that was also a good thing for me. So to make comparisons, I still prefer the Arnold version but this Total Recall gets a recommendation from me as well.

Brilliant action film with major plot holes

[GrimNirTheGreyGod · 7/10 · 17 August 2012]

This film is an action fans wet dream. It steams from action scene to action scene with a small pause for dialogue and plot. There's many will say this is a bad thing but not me. I hate long drawn out rhetoric in an action film. So if you like action in your action films you will love this.

If your looking for an up dated version of Arnie's Total Recall then you will be disappointed, but then what would be the point of seeing the exact same film again just with new characters? It needed to pay homage, but also be a little bit unique and new. This managers that with ease.

There's no Mars in this one. Its set in a future where much of the world is uninhabitable and there's really just the United Kingdom and Australia (The colony's) left. Travel between the two just takes 17 minutes by falling through a hole that travels through the centre of the earth. Which features as a major plot point.

The acting's OK by Farrell and Beil and they both give a good strong action performance, however the true star is Kate Beckinsale's role as his fake wife then ardent nemesis. Kate show's she's best in the full on action roles and is totally believable as a hard as nails kick ass ruthless pursuer. She's absolutely brilliant in every scene she's in. From the ambiguous but memorable line "I give good wife", to her die hard relentless attempts to kill Farrell she is definitely the true star of this movie. I definitely want to see her in more action movies.

From the point of keeping you thrilled, this film scores 10 out of ten, from an acting view point I give Beckinsale 10/10 and the others 8/10. The CGI is definitely 10/10 even if the first scenes are so very reminiscent of blade runner. The action, stunts and fight scenes are well above a 10/10 rating. In short this would be a perfect film if not for some silly plot holes.

Now here's where the plot gets a bit silly. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) lives in the UK travels by "the fall" to work in the colonies, where he's building synthetic soldiers that will be transported back to the UK to eventually use to invade the colonies, via the fall. There are terrorists who feel the fall generates second class citizens but no explanation why. UK owns the colonies, who are trying for independence, but are still owned by the UK, so why does the UK need to invade it? Quaid as Hauser has supposedly seen a kill code for the synthetic soldiers, if so why when he was first turned didn't he give it too the resistance. In this version he wasn't a pretend double agent he genuinely changed sides so why didn't he give it then? And as everyone seems to have recall technology why can only the leader of the resistance Matthias (Bill Nighy) get at it? Why endanger him? If anything Matthais roles seems to have been forced into the script from the original, but doesn't actually fit in this versions plot or premise. The the final annoying glaringly obvious plot hole. When the UK invades the colonies they load all their troops into the fall device and fall through the earth. The colonies know the invasion is coming through the fall we see news casts and alerts to the citizens warning them of the imminent invasion. So if they know its coming via the fall why not simply drop a bomb down the hole? Instantly kill the complete army and even block the only means of invasion ensuring their safety? Its so obvious its ridiculous.

Its this plot failure that makes me mark the overall film down to just 7/10. But if you don't care about that and just want an all action fun movie then this is definitely a must see film.

After watching the Original

[shovon-1 · 1/10 · 5 February 2023]

This then only deserves a '1'. So the idea behind it is not to watch the original at all, not even know about it and then with a clean slate watch this one and then give it a review. I could not because I went physically to the movie hall to watch the original in 1990. But I have to counteract my own philosophy because the three-titted bimbo in the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the remake has been lifted as it is from the original! So The 'Original' stands out as a towering Monolith even for the remakers. Seriously, I could not even get through the first twenty minutes of this film and had to shut it just down. Even seeing the 'hero' I kept on asking, where is that middle-aged man in his late thirties, or early forties which is so clearly etched into my mind from the original? Let us keep it straight here, the original was so good, no remakes should be ever made of it ever....if done they will just pale away .. as this one did. A very miserable hand at Philip K. Dick's story.

Don't compare it to the 1990 movie of the same name.

[haikallp · 7/10 · 8 August 2012]

I managed to watch total recall a couple of days back, and have watched it a second time. The reviews I've read so far reveals how many are comparing this to the 1990 movie staring Arnie.

Well, there are many differences in these two movies and if you want to truly enjoy this remake, you have gotta forget bout the original one. Try not to compare Arnie with Farrel and Beckinsale with Sharon Stone.

Graphically, Total Recall is beautifully crafted with good CGI work. It makes you wonder how believable the place is. It paints a future of the world where only two 'countries' exist while the majority of the Earth have become inhabitable. The difference in these two countries is vast and both of them looks amazing.

Collin Farell acting here is good but not worthy of any awards though Kate Beckinsale was amazing. She was definitely the best actor in this movie, hands down. The guy who played Cohagen was average a best. The other actors seemed blend and no one really stood out.

I have watched the original Total Recall and i have to say that these remake is slighty better. It feels more epic, saving a country seems more intense than saving a bunch of people living on Mars. The notion 'What is real' works well in this movie, especially in one of the scene in the hotel lobby i believe. What this movie lacks as compared to the original was a lack of witty lines. Arnie had some witty one-sentence line whereas Collin was pretty much serious throughout.

Total Recall started out great but by the time it hits the 60-80mins mark it starts to become a mindess action movie and it was pretty much predictable after that.

All in all, Total Recall is a great movie for someone who has never watched the original. I would give a rating of probably 7-8 out of 10.

I will never again pay money for a Les Wiseman production..

[drew_atreides · 6/10 · 3 August 2012]

...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.

We Can Remember It For You Wholesale

[tieman64 · 19 December 2012]

"What is reality and what constitutes the authentic human being? I consider these important topics." - Philip K. Dick

Len Wiseman is a hack. Hacks direct bad films."Total Recall" is directed by Len Wiseman. "Total Recall" is a bad film.

Philp K. Dick wrote "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" in 1966. The short story served as the basis for both Wiseman's 2012 film and Paul Verhoeven's 1990 adaptation, also called "Total Recall". Dick's tale had an interesting structure. It told the tale of Douglas Quail ("Quail" means "to cower in fear" or "chicken-like bird"), a cowardly guy grappling with various existential foibles; he wants to "be someone", to "achieve something", but is much too meek to leave his tiny, white collar cocoon. In this regard Dick has Quail hook up with a company called Rekal. Rekal is in the business of implanting "designer memories" such that the recipient of these implants "really believes" that they've had experiences corresponding to these memories. Naturally Quail decides to be implanted with a "memory package" in which he's a suave and daring secret agent who has had various adventures on the planet Mars.

This is where things get interesting. When Quail is about to have his "designer memories" implanted, Rekal abruptly ceases the procedure. They've discovered that – surprise surprise – Quail REALLY is a secret agent who has REALLY been to Mars. At this point, Dick's tale, Verhoeven's and Wiseman's are all more or less the same. We're asked to choose between one of two things: either Quail really is a secret agent or Quail is merely experiencing the roller coaster highs of his newly implanted memories. Both films then have fun playing with various questions of phenomenology and ontology, watching as ground zero reality and augmented virtual realities bleed back and forth into and out of one another.

In Dick's story, though, things get increasingly more complex. For Quail to accept his secret agent fantasy, this fantasy must first be disavowed by Rekal. Hence Rekal's self-reflexive layer, in which its designer memories include a constituent in which the memory itself is shown to have never been administered. What Dick's story then does is keep adding incredulous layers of fantasy, followed by incredulous layers of disavowal. So you have Quail "beliving he's a secret agent", but only because "Rekal believes it first". As the story progresses, more and more egotistical fantasies are piled upon poor Quail, each followed by equally fantastical supportive rationalisations. Eventually things get so ridiculous that Quail discovers that the reason police officers don't attack him – even though he is an illegally active secret agent – is because he is protected by aliens. Quail then learns that an alien species essentially thinks he is the most AWESOME, most AMAZING person in the universe, and are holding off destroying Earth precisely because Quail lives there. This big fantasy within a fantasy within a fantasy thus serves to bolster poor Quail's fragile ego (he's literally the MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WORLD!), whilst also setting up a series of rationalisations for why Quail "appears to be just an ordinary bum" whom "nobody suspects is a secret agent". Quail thus not only gets to be the GREATEST, but a rationalisation for why he doesn't appear to be so. It's never enough for Quail to actively ignore the actual state of things for his fantasy to work, rather, there always must be present an external Master believing for him; he defers to "it" for belief. This highlights an important difference between knowledge and (the reflectivity of) belief; we can believe through the Other, but cannot know through the Other.

Dick's novels have always ignored hard science predictions in favour of metaphysical speculation. His anticipations of techno capitalism's affects and effects have also made him particularly popular with postmodern theorists. Jean Baudrillard, for example, writes that Dick "immerses the reader directly in a hyper-real environment that is without origin, past, or future". To guys like Fredric Jameson, Dick's texts "reflect a blockage of historical time", a perpetual now that exists as a kind of "flux of all coordinates, be they mental, spatio-temporal or semiotic", which of course results in various psychological upheavals. In the case of "Wholesale", Quail's literal, technocratic world does not permit him to access his unconscious. Rekal thus functions as a kind of desire surrogate. But the closer Quail gets to desire, the quicker he is forced toward schizophrenia, paranoia and annihilation. This is Lacan 101; wish fulfilment is not so simple, and psychotic breakdowns oft result from directly realising the traumatic real of desire. What the existence of Rekal suggests is that we need the excuse of fiction to "comfortably" stage what we "really are", virtual technologies permitting the individual to enact an identity which is free from social constraints. In this regard, Quail's not "really" meek, but rather masquerades as a chicken due to socio-symbolic restraints. The problem is, Rekal isn't your typical medium. It's not like a simple cinema screen or DVD player. It's an Id machine, it trades in FACT not fantasy, and exists to directly collapse the boundaries between fiction and reality, and to realise for its subjects their desires. Poor Quail cannot cope with such a direct confrontation.

Regardless, Wiseman's "Total Recall" is total crap, aside from a cool "hover car" chase. The rest of the film features dull, generic action and expensive-but-derivative landscapes ("Star Wars", "Blade Runner", "Fifth Element" etc). Verhoeven's film, in contrast, had a certain charm. There the mere presence of Austrian Ubermensch Arnold Schwarzenegger, who looks like a ridiculous male fantasy object, rendered the whole film brilliantly dreamlike. Mix in a little of of Verhoeven's trademark camp, satire and nuttiness, and you had a weird drug-rush of a movie. Wiseman's film, in contrast, is almost pornographic in its obsession with "realism", detail, literalism and materiality over metaphysics. The film is totally scared of Dick.

2/10 - Worth one viewing.

A Len Wiseman Special

[JoeStok13 · 7/10 · 28 February 2013]

I wasn't expecting much from this movie at the start. I had not watched the original movie (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) so I didn't really know what the story was. I was expecting an overdose of action and a confusing plot.

I was pleasantly surprised by Colin Farrel's acting. I feel he has really improved as an actor and I thought the chemistry between him and co-stars Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel was great. The action sequences were fun to watch and exciting. Fast paced action sequences kept me refreshed and the stunning Kate Beckinsale, who you may know from 'Underworld' and 'Van Helsing', nailed the antagonist role.

The director, Len Wiseman, who previously surprised by making 'Live Free or Die Hard' a fantastic action film, has once again done his job well. The storyline was clear and made sense, which was more than what I had expected. I admit that it could have been better, because the climax was kind of dull compared to the rest of the movie, but definitely worth the watch.

Takes away the good from the original, turns into a dime-a-dozen action flick

[jacobconant · 4/10 · 5 August 2012]

The thing that made the old Total Recall so great was that it kept a certain level of fun going throughout the whole film. It threw Doug Quaid through several crazy challenges and turnarounds in the story. It was enjoyable to watch, and totally intrigued the viewer. It was campy. It was, all in all, a great movie.

This remake forgot the entire element of fun, and instead replaced it with what the producers probably thought people wanted to see: more explosions.

It's just, simply put, bleh.

It's not very fun to watch. It's actually pretty boring in the scenes where there isn't action, and the scenes where there is action, it begins to get old very quickly.

I don't ever feel like it's my place to critique another person's acting, but there are a few exceptions. Farrell just doesn't seem like a great Quaid. He kind of just takes everything that is thrown at him, and gets over it. Schwarzenegger was thrown into the action and was always surprised with what came next. He wasn't ever ready, and that showed. It made it more exciting! Farrell always kind of keeps that "yeah, I'm a secret agent? okay." attitude going the entire movie.

The last thing: You have almost no doubt that Quaid is actually a secret agent in this one. The old one actually had you thinking it was possible that he was still back at Rekall; whereas the remake spells it out in the beginning: He is a secret agent. That's it. End of story. The point of the old Total Recall was that you were never really sure. Is it all fake? Or is it real? The remake completely missed that intrigue, which was a big part of the old one.

It will entertain the people who like action, and nothing else. The substance just isn't there, which is a bit of a letdown. I give it a four, because it looked pretty.

I liked it. Not like the original, but that's why I liked it.

[changx02 · 9/10 · 31 October 2012]

Too many reviews comparing it to the 1990 film with Arnie. If the Arnie version was never put out, then everyone would be saying how great this adaptation really is in it's own merit. (And seriously can you really say that you would have given the Arnie version a 10 if you saw it today, come on now).

The action sequences were great. The fighting choreography was good. In all honesty I think Kate Beckinsale is one of the better female action stars out there, I mean she can really kick ass. Well the CG was awesome. The interpretation of the future was well though out. I especially liked that there were cars hovering and not "flying" using a magnetic levitation system (very realistic look into the future of transportation).

The plot was decent, and this is where it loses 1 star. I thought it did a great job adapting Philip K. Dick's science fiction story into it's own. However, I thought that it followed too similar in plot sequence of the 1990 film. It would have been a 10 for me otherwise.

I wished that they could have really gone another way making it a complete mind f*** that would just blow our minds away. They could really had more fun with the memory thing.

Overall, great action film and worth seeing. Just don't compare it to the 1990 film.

Enjoyable

[cm_fox · 7/10 · 27 August 2012]

If like me you're just looking for entertainment in this movie then you won't be disappointed. I was absorbed... the music, costumes, technology, etc. It was well done.

I forgot about everything else and became completely engrossed. For what I was looking for, i rate this movie highly.

I knew the story going in. I saw the original. Its a copy of someone else's idea so its not a movie to judge on story, although the story itself is well done and brings "it down to earth" a little better than the original.

Forget the critics trying to address these types of movies on some kind of artistic level. Irrelevant. You go to these to lose yourself in an imaginary world of the future, well made, with lots of good CGI.

They clearly spent some money on this and put it together well. This was an enjoyable film which is why I give it 7.0. If you're a fan of these types of movies go see it, you'll be entertained and will forget about everything else for 135 minutes.

Total Rehash

[dvc5159 · 5/10 · 3 August 2012]

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%

totally entertaining!

[mseligm · 8/10 · 11 August 2012]

What can i say, i really enjoyed this movie. There are similarities to the original but the new twist was very entertaining. It is definitely a special effects lovers dream come true.

I don't really understand why some people gave this movie a bad review when clearly this is much better than most of the c*ap out there. I presume that most of the haters are either somehow against the movie to begin with or just don't acknowledge a good movie when they see one.

Overall i give it an 8 out of 10 and would recommend this movie to everyone. It was just as entertaining as the original albeit with new theme.

Energetic Sci-Fi Flick that is Forgettable

[aaronjbong · 6/10 · 7 August 2012]

So what made them decide to remake the great 1990 sci-fi classic? No answer. This year's "Total Recall" remake is an entertaining sci-fi flick with lots of mindless action, extraordinary sets, but redundant. Its visual effects are energetic and watching them on the wide screen is a pleasure but that can't hide the fact that it has a convoluted plot and decent performances by the actors.

Colin Farrell replaces the Governator as the lead character here Douglas Quaid. World War III has caused most of Earth uninhabitable and only two territories exist, the United Federation of Britain (UFB) and the Colony (Australia); there is no Mars in this film although it was mentioned in one occasion. Quaid lives in the Colony and every day he uses this elevator service called "The Fall" to get to work in the UFB. One day, he decides to visit Rekall, a place where they implant memories into your mind. The police arrive and Quaid escapes. Later on, everything in his world turns upside down. He then gets involved in a series of action sequences filled with mind-blowing special effects to discover his true identity.

Let's start with the good things. The visual effects are just marvelous. The buildings, cities, and everything was just jaw-dropping. It's full of energy. Everything that is part of the set is just so energetic and bright. This is certainly a triumph over the remake. And the action sequences come along with the visual effects. You'll be satisfied with the action sequences as there are more than enough presented here. You have action all the time and you can only catch a short break before explosions run all over the screen again.

Like most Philip K. Dick's stories, it's science-fiction and set in the future. So, we expect some rad futuristic technology in this film. And it does not disappoint. A lift that takes you half around the world in just 20 minutes. Flying cars that use some magnetic force or something (I'm not good at science). Handphones that are integrated into your very hand (for video calling, all you have to do is put your hand on any solid like glass or mirrors). This is all great stuff. For those who love seeing futuristic items, this movie offers some great inventions.

However, the actors' performances aren't all that great. Colin Farrell is a great actor but he hasn't got the power yet to head an action film. He ain't Arnold Swarzchnegger. A lead in an action film may not be his strongest point but I'm sure he can improve that in a couple of years. Also, Kate Beckinsale gave a stunning performance. She portrayed Lori maliciously. However, Jessica Biel drove a mediocre performance as Melina, the good girl. Her dialogue delivery was typical and she gave a normal performance. The others did decent performances and didn't give anything special.

The plot is definitely NOT one of the biggest points for this film. It doesn't change much with the original plot. I like how they added some finishing touches and gave some extra bits to this one. But not all of the scenes work. In fact, sometimes I get confused on what is actually happening in the film. Some of the twists work but some of them just leave me confused. Who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy? Maybe that's part of the movie experience as the main character is in a desperate search for needs but for me, that just makes it confusing.

Oh yeah! If you're taking your kids to watch this film, watch out! There's one particular scene where it is inappropriate. Yep!

All in all, "Total Recall" is a fun and energetic sci-fi film that is easily forgettable. It's full of action sequences, mind-blowing visual effects, impressive fictional inventions, and fascinating sets. It's full of energy but is downed by some mediocre performances and unclear plot. Overall, it is good but easily forgettable.

Rating: 6/10

Final Verdict: This "Total Recall" remake is an energetic sci-fi effort filled with endless action, pleasing visual effects, and cool fictional inventions that is easily forgettable.

Shockingly Bad

[sunznc · 1/10 · 25 August 2012]

Should I say it? Total Recrap. I just had to say it. And poor Kate Beckinsale, she really needs a meal. Oh, but about the film.

Mind numbingly boring. Dull. Senseless action scenes with practically no storyline, no depth and poor acting. I mean, really lousy acting. Colin Farrell didn't seem comfortable with any of the women. With his side glances and body turned away from them.

They took a little Blade Runner, a little Bourne and a minute amount of Total Recall, mixed it together, added no plot, nothing meaningful at all, dull dialog, crappy sets and threw it in the can. And isn't everyone tired of people getting the crap beat out of them only to recover instantly and look remarkable and go on with the next scene? Please!

No more remakes for me. This finally put the nail in the coffin for me. Just terrible.

An affair to forget.

[The_Film_Cricket · 6 August 2012]

The first two things that you notice about the remake of Total Recall: There is no trip to Mars and there are no mutants. The original 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film centered its plot within a Martian colony inhabited by mutated humanoids living in a place both fascinating and horrifying. Without a cameo by The Red Planet, this new movie stays earthbound and becomes just a chase picture. Without mutants, how then do you explain the presence of a three-breasted prostitute? Apparently, there are some sights we just can't do without.

The 1990 film was, of course, one of Schwarzenegger's best-loved films. It too, was a long chase picture but it had some flair, some goofy comedy, some sense of purpose. This new film is dead serious. It is all chase and very little personality, just as we feel that we are getting close to the characters having a personality, they are interrupted by gunfire, and we're off and running.

Both this film, and the 1990 original are based on a classic 1966 short story "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale" by science fiction legend Philip K. Dick, whose work also inspired Blade Runner. The movie takes place at the other end of this century when the air has become so polluted that most of the earth is uninhabitable. Only two areas of the earth are able to sustain human life, one is Western Europe, now called The United Federation of Britain. The other is the former Australia, now simply called The Colony. People get from one area to the other via a vertical subway train that moves through the earth. How they keep from getting incinerated at the core is never explained.

A soulless government runs the UFB, which has packed so many people into Western Europe that it has become dangerously overdeveloped and overpopulated. There is no longer a sense of architecture, only buildings that seem to be built without a plan. Located within The Colony is a resistance movement bent on overthrowing the oppressive government. The leader of the UFB, a bull-head politician named Cohaagan (Bryan Cranston), is developing a plan to squash the resistance with his robotic invasion force. We see this conflict mostly in brief glimpses on television screens. We hear about it, but never get involved in it.

Within the forbidding landscape of the UFB is Douglas Quaid (Colin Ferrell), a genial good-egg who is married to a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) and works as a construction worker, building Cohaagan's security droids. He is plagued by the fact that his life seems to have no meaning, no purpose, no excitement. That's why an ad for a place called Rekall peaks his interest.

Rekall allows its clients the experience of having memories implanted in their brains that will make their wildest fantasies come true. Against the advice of his best buddy Harry (Bokeem Woodbine), Doug goes to Rekall. Strapped to a chair and about to be put under, it is suddenly revealed that he isn't who he thinks he is. His memory has been replaced by another. His whole life as he knows it is a lie, even his seven year marriage. That's the film's first 20 minutes. The rest of the picture is one long and exhausting chase.

For a picture like this to work, we have to have characters to care about. Ferrell is a good actor but his role consists of so much shooting and running and jumping that we never get to know him. There is none of the fear and panic and confusion that you could imagine going on in his mind, or that Schwarzenegger brought to the original. At Ferrell's side is a resistance agent named Melina (Jessica Biel) whose entire role is to run behind Ferrell and save him when not being saved herself. The deeper mystery of the original story, which toyed around with whether or not this was all a dream, is contained in one effective scene in which Harry tries to convince Doug that he is asleep in a chair at Rekall and that all he needs to do to wake up is shoot Melina. After that, we continue the chase and the whole dream plot is more or less abandoned.

Without characters to care about, our attention focuses on the special effects, which are expertly crafted if not all that memorable. Do you remember the Schwarzenegger film? Remember the X-ray machine? Remember the fingernail polish pen? The "two weeks" lady? The Johnnycab? Those were exciting special effects because they were at the service of creating a future world of ideas and possibilities. Those effects were so remarkable that the Academy decided that year to forgo the Visual Effects category at the Oscars and give the film the award out right.

This new film isn't nearly that special. There are some impressive sights. Most of the technology is made up of digital holograms and implants, the most impressive being a phone that is implanted into the palm of your hand that can be answered by touching a pane of glass. Another is a skyway packed with flying cars which offers up the film's most impressive action scene. But there is so much to the effects and the set decoration and so little to the story that you feel that this was a wasted opportunity. It is a well-made film, but ultimately it is a film that you will - I'll say it - soon forget.

**1/2 (out of four)