Total Recall (2012)
Director. Len Wiseman Writing Credits. Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback, Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon & Jon Povill Based on Philip K. Dick's Short story 'We Can Remember It For You Wholesale' Cast. Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bill Nighy, Bokeem Woodbine & John Cho
Ok, it's finally arrived. The much anticipated (ok, a slight piss take there) remake of Total Recall. Paul Verhoeven's 1990 original is quite rightly cited as a sci-fi classic and one of the Austrian Oak's best movies (being right up there with Predator, Terminators 1 and 2 and Commando)
For those of you who have lived under a rock for the past 20 odd years here's a brief rundown of the plot.
Douglas Quaid (Farrell) is an ordinary Joe working a dead end job wondering if his life shouldn't be, more..... After a visit to Rekall, who can implant memories directly in to the customer's mind, Quaid's past as a superspy double agent are brought to the surface bringing him in to conflict with his wife who is not who she once appeared to be and puts on the run from his former employers and in to the arms of the resistance.
So how does this new version measure up....?
Well, it's not bad. Like many people I went in to this film thinking that it was a bit redundant to remake such an already excellent film. However the trailer impressed and Len Wiseman has got an eye for action as evidenced by his Underworld movies and the entertaining if a little throw away Live Free and Die Hard(4)
What struck me most when watching the film is how much it borrows stylistically from two other classic sci-fi adaptations, Blade Runner and I, Robot. The mechanized soldiers/federal police are almost identical to those featured in Alex Proyas' excellent movie as are the magnetized cars which feature in one of Recall 2012's more energetic set pieces. The design of the city-scape in Recall is one of the films real successes, creating an environment that is both slum and feat of architectural wonder. However, the production design again feels second hand - influenced by Blade Runner, even down to the overtly Asian influences on the culture and architecture of this world.
A key problem by wearing its influences so heavily on its sleeves is that it will invariably be compared to the two films and Recall 2012 suffers in the comparison. I found myself distracted by the influence of these two movies as well as all the references to the original movie. There were too many quotes or nods to Arnie's version (be it arms amputated by elevator, a three breasted prostitute or a fat woman saying 2 weeks) and not enough original moments that stuck out once I'd left the theatre.
Now that's not to say that Recall 2012 doesn't have its good points. First off, the cast and acting is far superior and Farrell gives another great performance. His easy charisma really draws the viewer in to his interpretation of Quaid, and he adds layers to a character that in the previous incarnation was little more than a one-man-army with a bunch of 'witty' one-liners. Farrell is proving that he is consistently the best thing about the movies he makes, with great performances (Tiger Land, In Bruges, Fright Night and the upcoming Seven Psychopaths) in the through out his career. Beckinsale also relishes her role as the main antagonist delivering the best put-downs and providing the film's greatest threat to our hero. The production values are also far in advance of the original, but one can only wonder what Verhoeven would have done with this picture had the same technology been available to him.
The role of Quaid's wife has been significantly bulked up in this version of Recall, seemingly merged with that of the Michael Ironside role in the original movie. This may have been to focus the character relations in to a more intimate dynamic or the more likely reason being, that director Len Wiseman wanted to ensure his wife had the most prominent female role in the movie. In all honesty, regardless of the reason behind it, it is a move that for the most part pays off.
Beckinsale thrives in these sorts of roles, she looks great in the action scenes and clearly knows what she is doing having previously worked on the Underworld franchise. However, the biggest issue with Beckinsale as Quaid's 'nemesis' is that in realistic terms (unless a vampire) she poses very little in the way of a physical threat. The opening sequence shows just how much Colin Farrell has been working out and it’s really just not believable that someone as tiny as Kate Beckinsale (trained or not) could throw him around the way she does.
Another element that really worked in the original was the prominence of the underclass and the influence of this on the resistance forces. This is never fully explored in this version and as a result a lot of the drama is lost in the scenes where Quaid is wrestling with the notion of what his 'former' self has done.
Whilst this is a decent flick, the team behind it really missed a trick. In remaking this movie they could have gone back to the source material and made a biting satire about what reality really means today, about what we are told versus what the truth is and how much our memory is shaped by technology. However by so heavily referencing other Philip K. Dick adaptations and the original movie, this feels like it is being remembered wholesale rather than shaping new memories.
It’s ironic that this film should ultimately be a rather forgettable action film with none of the originals quotable dialogue.
Makes me wish I had three hands.....
