Total Recall Movie Review

The reboot of Total Recall is an action packed and CGI driven film. Maybe that is the reason it fails in a lot of things.

Total Recall is based on the short story by Phillip K. Dick. It was first adapted into film by Paul Verhoeven and had Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Doug Quaid. This time, Colin Farrell is playing the memory-troubled Quaid. But this iteration of Total Recall is worth forgetting, unlike the first one.

The story is the same. Quaid is a double agent for a company who is tasked to infiltrate the resistance. His memory is replaced with a new one in order for his character to be believable to the rebels. But things go wrong when he goes to a place called Rekall where you get implanted with new memories. In the original film, we were curious to know who was telling the truth and which road will lead to the answers. But for the reboot, the mystery never seems to get off the ground. This adaptation is not as engaging as the first.

The reboot changes location. The original was set in Mars while this film is set on Earth. Back in the original, the main weapon of the company is air. You don’t follow, you get no air. For the reboot, their main weapons are synthetics or robots, thousands of them which form an invading army. This change somehow decreases the excitement in the film. When it was set in Mars, we know that they will have a hard time going out or cause extreme damage while inside. Mars was an important part in the story as well as the action. When the reboot chose Earth, the main purpose of the planet to the story is just geography and nothing else. It shows the two remaining cities in the world which are located in opposite directions. Earth adds nothing to the story but it could have been used well.

Probably one of the main reasons this film failed is that it is too CGI heavy. There are a lot of special and visual effects that you will get lost in a world that is already messing up your mind. Yes, the effects are well made but there is just too much of it that it shadows the story. It appears the film is using the CGI to run the story and not the other way around. This film was released in 3D to add more bucks but I believe audiences will not appreciate it well because there is just too much CGI.

Colin Farrell brings his own take on Quaid. He performs well in this reboot by not trying to follow in Arnold’s footsteps. Kate Beckinsale also did a great job. She and Colin have great on screen chemistry even if they are enemies in this film. Jessica Biel brings nothing new to the table. Her performance is forgettable even if she had a shorter screen time. Bryan Cranston plays a new take of Cohaagen. His version is visually ruthless unlike the first Cohaagen played by Ronny Cox which had charm and his ruthlessness was hidden unless he really wants to show it.

One thing I didn’t like about this version of Total Recall is the body count. There isn’t much death and gore. One of the memorable things of the first film is the body count. Paul Verhoeven did a great job of combining death t the story. But with the reboot, the human death toll and gore is reduced by a lot of robot deaths which is not pleasing to fans of the genre.

Total Recall brings nothing new to the table. Worse, it brings less. It is action packed but fails to engage. It has great visuals but the end results were a mess. The reboot of Total Recall is a film not worthy of its title or its predecessor. It is a plain sci-fi/action film with a big budget. It is a film you probably won’t recall. I give it 5 out of 10.