Chris Reviews Total Recall

Let me start of this review by saying that the original Total Recall is one of my all time favorite films. It had my favorite director (Paul Verhoven) behind the camera, a fantastic score from Jerry Goldsmith (my favorite composer) and Arnold in his prime. It has a perfect combination that came together to form a memorable and goofy Sci-fi action film. So how does the remake fair?

The Good-

The first thing that really stood out to me was the production design. I was expecting them to create some half ass futuristic world, but they really went all out to create an interesting world. The action scenes almost felt like you were playing a video game with very intricate obstacles. That is the primary strength of this film is that it looks pretty awesome. The first act of the film is also fairly engaging but unfortunately that is about it.

The Bad-

Colin Farrell has about zero charisma in this and its sad when you realize that Arnold gave a better performance than him. While Kate Beckinsale looked good in the action sequences I was not a fan of her character. She basically was fulfilling both the Lori (Sharon Stone) and Richter (Michael Ironside) roles from the original. Byran Cranston also disappointed as Cohaagen which was a fun villain played by Ronny Cox in the original. The serious tone and lack of fun, poor character development and the formulaic third act really killed it for me.

Summary-
  
This is a competently made summer blockbuster that had it come out when I was 10 and had I not seen the original might have seemed cool. If your contemplating on seeing this do yourself a favor and rent the original version because you will get a the same concepts presented in this film but in a much more enjoyable film.

MY RATING

2.5 out of 5

Chris "Da Franchize" Hart