Review of Total Recall (2012) by Stuart M — 20 Jun 2014

Oh boy, where to even begin with this one? Why even remake a film as iconic as Total Recall, especially since the original's only about twenty years' old? I've seen films that managed to be new and original, but they all seem to have two things in common: they all focus on readapting the source material and not the movie and they are not afraid to take risks. This film claims to be doing the former and the completely reimagined setting suggests the latter. It was not to be however. The film is an adaptation of the movie right down to the copying of key scenes. The famous (or infamous) sneaking through security in a futuristic face-replacing disguise is recreated here, even to the point of having a long focus on a woman looking a great deal like Arnold's costume. In fact, the tension in the first part of the scene is entirely reliant on people having seen the first movie.

The setting is a rather larger change. Gone is Mars. In is United Britain and the colony (Oceana) connected through a very silly planetary core train. The design aesthetic has more in common with Minority Report than the original film and if it doesn't feel new it is at least different. The sets are large and gorgeous and add much to the film. But it isn't enough. The plot is stuck in familiar territory and the new attempt at realism seems oddly out-of-place. Having a full on action hero as the lead worked better since it made the film either sheer escapism or an obvious fantasy.

Another of this film's great sins is its gross wasting of actors' potential. Colin Farrell is given little useful to work with and just doesn't have the screen persona to pull off the stereotypical action hero. He keeps trying to humanize him, which is oddly exactly what this film doesn't need. Bryan Cranston is basically just a source of exposition with a very bland persona. Bill Nighy also displays none of his usual warmth or energy, simply spouting off philosophy to no purpose. The two girls are even worse. They were a major casting slipup. The original film had the sense to cast two distinct looking actresses for the roles. Here not only do the two actresses look similar, the color-drained gritty CoD look required for all action films nowadays (complete with black or dark grey clothing) makes it difficult to distinguish the two unless we're looking at closeups of their faces. There's a great moment where Jessica Biel is revealed to be wearing a holomask which gets torn off to reveal⦠what looks like the same face only it's Kate Beckinsale. If the actress isn't even always clear in closeup there's a real problem.

Having seen this film I have developed a new appreciation for the original. It may seem like a blunt and excessive action flick but at every stage the film provides exactly what the audience needs. The sections dealing with the potential dreamworld are all handled with such subtlety that it isn't obvious how difficult it was arranging it. I am genuinely uncertain whether the original is real or not. Here it is more obvious in a long drawn-out scene that makes no sense if he's in the real world and comes early lest it disrupt the series of action setpieces making up the film. Even the slightly more realistic take on the material damages it because it provides less of a contrast between real world/potentially fake one. Quaid has actual character growth, which for once is a bad thing since it conflicts with the main theme. The whole story is a giant juggling act, and they drop the ball far too often to be anything but bland.