When the Total Recall “remake” was first announced in 2009, the producers were clear on one thing: in spite of the 1990 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this movie would offer a different (albeit still loose) interpretation of iconic sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” Nevertheless, the collective moviegoing community exploded in a near-universal chorus of outrage, and in the coming months, as director Len Wiseman began sharing his vision for the project, more and more fans continued to rail against the idea on principle alone – calling it an “unnecessary cash grab” and decrying the idea of an alternate Total Recall story interpretation, one that didn’t feature Mars, mutants, aliens, or Schwarzenegger.
As a result, it’s safe to say that anyone who is fundamentally against this film based solely on the fact that it’s a remake, isn’t likely to be impressed by what Wiseman has put together. However, does Total Recall (2012) – despite similarities to its namesake – offer an interesting and action-packed reinterpretation of the core concept – an everyday man wrestling with his grip on reality and sense of self?
Fortunately, the answer is yes.
While Wiseman’s Total Recall includes a number of familiar story beats and fun nods to its predecessor, it also presents plenty of fresh material that should deliver an enjoyable (although somewhat thin) experience for fans who aren’t too bogged down in comparing/contrasting the film with Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 treatment. Anyone who has been following the movie’s trailers (or seen the original) will already be privy to a number of the film’s biggest “reveals,” but there are still plenty of explosive set pieces and tongue-in-cheek one-liners to make the moment-to-moment onscreen action immersive and enjoyable. Without question, Total Recall is skewed heavily in favor of style over substance – but that shouldn’t dissuade cinemagoers from taking a trip to Rekall with leading man Colin Farrell.
Jessica Biel and Colin Farrell in 'Total Recall'
As mentioned, the story differs in a number of ways from both the original film and Dick’s short story source material. The “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” narrative still serves as the film’s outline, though, and unlike the 1990 version, Wiseman’s story remains grounded entirely on Earth. This round Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) lives in a post-World War III society where tensions flare between the last two habitable places on the planet: The rich United Federation of Britain and the impoverished Colony (Australia). Quaid is a blue-collar factory worker who commutes (via a massive transit system called “The Fall”) from The Colony to the UFB, where he assembles synthetic Police robots before making the return trip home each night to his lovely wife, Lori (Kate Beckinsale). Ultimately, Quaid isn’t content with this mundane existence, and is haunted by dreams of a mysterious woman (played by Jessica Biel), as well as a life with actual purpose. In an effort to scratch his itch for excitement, he visits Rekall to have artificial memories implanted in his mind – only to discover that, unbeknownst to him, he’s already an instrumental player in a much larger threat.
While some fans will most likely miss the campy (and, at times, visually arresting) aesthetic of Verhoeven’s Total Recall, Wiseman’s interpretation plays all of the sci-fi plot material with a very straight face. Despite a number of witty remarks, the film takes itself extremely seriously, and with the exception of select hat tips to the first film, works hard to ground events in a believable vision of 2084. Certain elements still offer eye-popping visuals (such as The Colony skyline and “hover car” effects) but this Total Recall puts most of its effort into nonstop action – which should easily be apparent after the third multifaceted chase sequence. Similarly, the film provides several slick hand-to-hand combat scenes and loads of stylish sci-fi gadgetry (get ready to trade in your iPhone) that should keep genre fans happy.
Futuristic action and Sci-fi effects in 'Total Recall'
That said, with all the flash and bang action, character development takes a back seat. For the most part, Farrell delivers a strong leading man performance that allows Quaid to be likable – even though the character is mostly a blank slate, scrambling to uncover his true identity. He’s empathetic enough, especially when faced with other people who seemingly know him – despite his inability to reciprocate. Less forgivable is the supporting stable of characters who are mostly one-note killing machines. While both Biel and Beckinsale successfully offer solid (as well as butt-kicking) performances – there isn’t much to either character beyond their function in eliciting different reactions from Quaid or moving the plot from point A to point B. Similarly, fan-favorite Bryan Cranston doesn’t disappoint, but his character, Cohaagen, is sorely underused – given the role he plays.
The prevalence of thin but hard-hitting character archetypes is in keeping with much of Wiseman’s directorial repertoire (which includes the first two Underworld films as well as Live Free or Die Hard) – as is the filmmaker’s reliance on the aforementioned slick action over thought-provoking substance. The overarching Total Recall 2012 story concept is serviceable – since the premise (along with the core concept) is actually pretty compelling; however, as the movie tracks from one lengthy chase/gun battle/fist-fight sequence to the next, there isn’t much room to build upon the rich world that’s introduced in the opening. Thematic elements (tension between “The Haves” and “The Have Nots”) as well as philosophical questions (“What defines who we are?”) are quickly glossed over with overly-cheesy, throwaway lines of dialogue – failing to “say” anything particularly interesting about several ideas the movie develops.
Bryan Cranston and Kate Beckinsale in 'Total Recall'
Certain moviegoers will argue that Total Recall was an entirely unnecessary remake (i.e., a ‘cash-grab’) – but there are enough differences to justify Wiseman’s effort. While not all of these ideas are successful, the director’s attempt at re-imagining Philip K. Dick’s story will present action/sci-fi lovers with a compelling (albeit thin) sci-fi world to explore, intriguing (albeit thin) characters to follow, and enough visual spectacle to make viewers wish they had three eyeballs.
If you’re still on the fence about Total Recall, check out the trailer below:
-
Loading ...-
Still wondering how this Total Recall compares to Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 action film as well as Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” source material? Read our Total Recall: 2012 vs 1990 vs… 1966 feature.
For an in-depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant team check out the Total Recall episode of the SR Underground podcast.
Let us know what you thought of the film in the comment section below. If you’ve seen the movie and want to discuss details about the film without worrying about spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, please head over to our Total Recall Spoilers Discussion.
Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for future reviews, as well as movie, TV, and gaming news.
Total Recall is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief nudity, and language. Now playing in theaters.
Our Rating:
3 out of 5
‘Assassin’s Creed’ Gets Memorial Day 2015 Release Date [Updated] 
New ‘Anchorman 2′ Teaser Trailer: Brick Wishes You Happy Easter 
Kevin Feige Talks Possible Movies for Marvel’s Phase Three 
‘Game of Thrones’ to End in Season 7? 
Nice review, although I now think I am going to wait for this to be on Netflix before I see it. I was on the fence, but I think I will save my $10 for something else.
Yeah, especially since this movie got butchered by reviews. Check out Rottentomatoes.
Matinee anyone? heh
Definitely waiting on the DVD then. Thanks BK.
Sure thing!
Interesting, all the other reviews I read slaughtered it, so it’s refreshing to see a positive one.
If I’m bored, I’ll go check this out. When it comes out on the 29th in the UK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grhghh!!!!!!!!!!!!
I liked it. Really glad to see Ethan Hawke was in the movie…ya know because he was billed on the cast and all…Glad ANY of his scenes were cut allegedly haha..
dvdvd material, im going to see TDKR again this weekend for second helping and hopefully clearer sound so I can hear Bane’s dialogue
thanks for the review ! i hope that – robocop- will be better then the original and will give us a good story(exciting storys like nolan does show) and emotional,mindblowing action-flick. if that reboot will fail,then i will be the last one who will give up his hopes for good reboots/makes. give it just a more characterdriven/emotional touch and then the actionscenes will work better,but they always fail,it´s sad.
yeah i really interested in the robocop reboot also, from the cast so far, seems like something special. hopefully the director can do what Nolan did with batman, but then again it kinda wasnt hard to top jim henson’s cheesy series with a darker grittier, well written script, while Robocop was already one of the grittiest movies ever, especially for its time, only improvements i see is maybe make him more charismatic, faster, besides a few updates they should still keep him ROBOCOP instead of trying to give him an entirely new appearence
Awesome review as usual Ben.
I’ve always been on the fence with this one: didn’t really follow the production, didn’t watch that many trailers, not a Colin Farrell fan, etc. but after reading the review, I’ve decided to wait for the rental. There are a lot of other, more promising movies this month that I can spend my cash on.
Glad it was useful! Yah, you’ll miss out on some cool visuals that look slick on the big screen but… it’s not a must see in theaters.
Kind of let down by the reviews on this because I was totally looking forward to this movie. Nevertheless I’ll prob hold off till seeing this on Tuesday now because tickets are only 7 bux then
It sucks they can’t get a leading actor big like Arnold was. I mean seriously, I’m ready to see some real action heros that kick butt. The Rock is probably the only decent size action hero in today’s moderan action/adventure films.
Tom hardy
don’t forget Jason Statham
Rottentomtoes has ripped the movie as far as the critics go but the avg audeince review has a %74 as of current compared to the critics %31. This is almost always a sign of a movie that the average movie goer will enjoy.
Yah, I think that’s where I land. It’s not a “smart” or “thought-provoking” movie but it is enjoyable.
I kinda feel for Collin because he just can’t seem to catch a break here lately between the 2006 failure called MIAMI VICE, last Summers frightfully dissapointing FRIGHT NIGHT and the now the TOTAL RECALL which is far better then the prior 2 but still not what it should or could have been, I’d say its time for Colin Ferrel to just say NO to remakes.
I thought fright night was really good.and it was fresh on rottentomatoes
It was ok but was not better than the original which is still highly entertaining, even by today’s standards.
“…still highly entertaining, even by today’s standards” -this made me laugh. Today’s standards are far, far worst than they were twenty years ago.
Well you might want to wait until the end of the weekend so more critics and movie goers to review and post.
In the last 24 hrs the critic review has barely moved but the audience reviews have sunk to 62%.
This is shaping up to be another Green Lantern type that will struggle to make back its costs.
Audience approval has now sunk to 56%
I might go see this. It’s going to be a hot summer day here in SoCal. If I get my projects done, an afternoon in a nice air conditioned theater, watching an action packed popcorn movie, might be the thing to do.
LOL…I`ll give it a shot at morning showtime which is $6.00 that way I dont stress that I spend too much
I don’t get the “thin characters” line.
the characters in the first Total Recall film were about as thin, undeveloped, and two-dimensional as could be. Even Quaid as played by bonehead Schwarzenegger. He was a walking, talking (though rarely at the same time) caricature.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually DID enjoy the first film. A lot. I just don’t see how saying that the remake has no character development is any different from the first film.
I’m looking forward to seeing this remake.
I’d have the same criticism of the original too. In the review, I was trying to avoid comparisons as much as possible. Just because the first movie had thin characters doesn’t mean this one couldn’t have offered something more.
Why avoid the comparisons to the original? I would personally like to know for sure if this movie qualifies as being more true to the novella as opposed to the original movie.
I’m actually working on a piece about the differences that I’m putting up in a few hours.
BUT
As far as reviews go. We’re trying to recommend a movie based on its own merits. I didn’t avoid comparisons altogether but focusing on the prior movie would be wasted on anyone who hasn’t see it (especially since they are quite different). As a result, I’m reviewing the A -> B -> C of this movie not how it compares to the 1990 version.
Hopefully that makes sense. That said, this one follows some of the same story beats – albeit without some of the more over-the-top sci-fi elements (mutants, etc).
Mongoose – here’s the link to the new “comparison” article: http://screenrant.com/total-recall-2012-vs-1990/
haha, I see what you did there, very shrewd so the review wasn’t overly long.
Saw it this morning: Rental.
As to thin characters, sure, in the original they weren’t deep – but they were far more engaging and I cared about them. Here, the leads could have been androids.
I don’t know how so much amazing action could end up feeling bland.
Vic
One thing is for certain, Kate Beckinsale was smoking HOT in TOTAL RECALL, soo much soo that they should call it TOTAL BECKINSALL!
As hot as Jessica Biel has been in previous films, Kate wins out on this one, soo much so that it was sad to see her as the villian instead of the reverse. Then again, if she were the heroine then she shouldn’t have been the one scantily dressed early on.
It has Kate in it. So, I’ll wait till it comes out in the $3.00 theater to see it.
I never miss an opportunity to see KB on the big screen
Finally, a voice of reason heard above the herd mentality
that has been trashing this film. Thank you, Ben Kendrick.
Sure, more style than substance — so what and why not. It’s a summer
movie and it’s allowed to be. The movie has its faults and this review
places them in proper context without dismissing the product.
For whatever reason I have been looking forward to
this movie and Ben, you have vindicated my desire.
You have to take a film like this in the spirit offered
riding over bumps along the way and enjoy the ride.
Cheers Rob! Hope you enjoy it.
I will wait for the Blu-Ray, as that one will have additional 17 minutes clocking in at a total of 136 mins. That’s pretty close to the 140 mins, the director called his “directors cut” in a recent interview.
i have this movie opening at about 35 million because of the name so lets see how it does and if its any good or consistent.
Next people will start complaining about the unfair treatment of zombies in the Resident Evil franchise. An audience should, by now, know what it’s going to get from a director like Len Wiseman or his bride.
I fully expect to be disappointed since Hollywood simply cant make good remakes of 80′s movie….BAH!!! *Yes I know original was released in 1990 but filmed in the 80s
I just saw the trailer for this at the theater yesterday while waiting for the TDKR to start. It solidified and subsantiated everything I thought – it’s a cash grab no doubt, ripping off the original strictly using the new special effects. I watched 3 minutes of continuous copy cat scenes from the original.
I saw enough to know this movie is garbage without having to see the whole thing. 3 minutes was enough. (I know there’s people who believe you cant criticize “based on just seeing a trailer” when they’re looking forward to seeing the movie but you can safely ignore anyone saying it.)
No Quatoo = horsesh$t
I was going back and forth about seeing this movie. The reviews around the web is pretty much saying it’s bad and now I had some friends who saw it this morning telling me it’s bad. Too bad. I had some hopes for this movie to be a little decent but oh well. Now I will wait for the DVD and save my money for the Bourne Legacy
sadly yes sometimes the trailer is practically the movie. iam watching mainly because of special effects and i can still watch it cheap at a good theater if i go early enough. but 200 million poured into this movie with no ties to the original whatsoever is horrible producing on columbia’s part. the original while a success only made 260 million worldwide.
I’m not sure if I really care about ‘character development’ in a summer action movie. I’m certain all the character driven movies will make their fall debut in hopes of landing an oscar nod. Call me a simpleton, but I like action movies and if the action was good, then I’m good to go. Come to think of it, of all the Screenrant movie reviews I’ve read the reviewer is never quite satisfied with the amount of character development.
I wanna check this is out – and yeah good review. This is the kinda remake that ALMOST doesn’t stand a chance lol because the original is not just a sci-fi movie it’s an AHNULD movie. That alone is almost big enough to not even warrant a remake lol But nothing about the trailer made it look bad (except for ‘Harold’ he looked awfully miscast) so it stands a chance to make some money. Robocop is gonna be tough. A movie that still works 30 years later is tough to beat. Quite frankly they could have just remade robocop 3 and no one would have minded – then proceeded from there…at least they keep saying robo will be different so it gives hope. I have a feeling it’ll be good without tarnishing the original. Robocop is one of the best superhero movies ever and is always left of off those lists for some reason.
the only reason ‘reviewers’ would hate this is b/c it’s a remake of a movie that is still ‘fresh’, the is no other reason to hate an action movie (which the original one was as well) with pretty visuals and a decent cast.
ben how fluent was the action and the camera/editing for said scenes b/c at this stage that is the make or break for me watching this on release week.
It’s actually pretty good. Some of the hand-to-hand sequences and the chase set pieces are pretty fluid (even though they’re comprised of a lot of “cuts”).
so nothing as bad as the last bourne movie (fast cuts and terrible cam work) and the new conan (fast cuts) ?
There are definitely a LOT of fast cuts but the shots are connected. Not much shaky cam but there are loads of lens flares.
but is everythi9ng tolerable/viewable b/c at this stage that is all that matters with pg 13 movies
Come on Last Action Hero remake…..
I wouldn’t mind some kind of sequel to Last Action Hero. I think that movie was brilliant. I’d even say it’s arnold’s best performance. He’s great and never been funnier – the end where he encounters himself is hilarious. “don’t mention the restaurant, it’s so tacky.”
Totally underrated movie. The funeral scene alone has me in tears EVERY TIME. “Help me, help me – get me out of heeeer! …oh my god – this man’s NOT DEAD!!!!”
The only weak thing about that movie was the kid. “and this – this is for blowing up ex-wife’s house.” (slaps his wrist! hilarious stuff!) Never understood that movie’s failure except that it was a little ahead of it’s time and people just didn’t get it – I dunno…
With the exception of the hand-phone, I found the film to be disappointing. The 1990 film was far superior in terms of pace, fun, action…and everything else. The more I think about it, it seems to me wherever there’s a remake, there’s Colin Farrell.
This could very well be one of the worst films of the year.
Thank you for the review. I’m going to see it and judge for myself. I love the original but I can’t comment on the remake. It would be silly and ridiculous to bash or defend a movie before seeing it. I will reserve judgement until
I see it on 29 August ( UK release date ).
I liked the movie,and the nods that it made towards the original,but there really isn’t anything deep here.
I will say that I really don’t know what’s up with Wiseman and all of the lens flare in this movie.He had more in this film that all of JJ Abrams movies combined.It got a bit distracting at times.
I liked the design work of the movie as well,but I’ll be the first to admit that it was pretty much a total rip off of another movie that Farrell was in,Minority Report.
Minority Report was also based on a Philip K Dick short story — but y’know something? Bringing it up is a good point.