Cast: Collin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston
MPAA Rating: Rated
PG13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief nudity, and language
"Total Recall" while not the remake we deserve, might just be the one we need right now and if that don't sale you, we always have girls with three breast to do it for you.
Around last April I heard that hollywood was continuing the cash cow of remaking any movie or tv show from the 80's and 90's and would be continuing with "Total Recall" which itself is also based on a Phillip K. Dock novel "We Can Remember it For Your Wholesale" that the film follows more strictly than the 1990 film. When I first heard of this I really had no prior knowledge of the 1990's Arnold film except that it dealt with getting implanted memories of their dream life and I got a different feeling with this film than I got with the usual remakes being tossed around in Hollywood, I actually thought this had the potential to be a good movie.
The concept overall of the film is at the end of the 21st Century, the world has been destroyed by a third world war and society has been split into two colonies; the united federation of Britain, and New Asia who are locked in a huge battle to unify the world. The film follows Douglas Quaid (Collin Farrell) who with being fed up with his life decides to try a procedure called rekall which implants you with the life you want and Douglas ends up in a high end conspiracy and doesn't know which reality is real. A film like this could actually benefit from a remake as it is an interesting take for a director and has a real twilight zone feel to it. The only thing that hurts me is that the director shortchanges the film before allowing it to become the film it could have been.
From the trailer early on I could tell this film was real action heavy and for a good portion of the film is. Len Wiseman who directed this film is best known for his work on films like "Underworld" that is real action heavy and just like in that film he produces some really good fight scenes and visuals that get you really lost in this world but with most action heavy films, some of the bigger issues in the plot get put on the back burner. It felt like they rushed a lot of the reveals and didn't give the film enough time to flesh itself out the character interactions didnt feel real and felt more like a means to get another action scenes.
A concept I liked in the film was not knowing which reality was which once entering rekall and it could have been a concept the film focused on a little more because while it did offer up a few interesting scenes, it could have been focused on a lot more and played a part of more of a driving part of the plot.
The film stars an interesting cast of characters; Collin Farrell, who really doesn't play the main character role a lot didn't really offer up anything exciting to the role and felt more like a generic action hero alongside a cast of good actors who all did fine in their roles but felt more like in the end they could've been played by any other actor in hollywood. With all this focus I am giving the negatives, I don't want you to think I hated the movie. I didn't hate the movie I acutally found it quite fun. The action scenes were really good and the film offers some good twist and turns in the last act of the film, its just there is a lot of missed potential here on what could've been done with this film. The film is good for a fun afternnoon with freinds where you can just lay back and enjoy a film and turn off your brain for a bit, but don't go in expecting the emotinal and thrilling moments a film like "The Dark Knight Rises" offer, but that doesn't mean its a "Battleship" style movie either.
you are invited to follow my blog
ReplyDelete