Total Recall - 2 smiles

As a fan of the original Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarznegger, I was surprised to hear that there was going to be a remake and that Colin Farrell was set to star. The two biggest differences is that there are no scenes set on Mars and the main character, Doug Quaid, is not played by Schwarznegger.  Farrell, who is arguably a better actor, just doesn’t have the same screen presence as the governator. Both stories concern a man who is involved without is knowledge or recollection in a conflict between a totalitarian regime and a resistance movement. In both he is happily married to Lori (Sharon Stone in the original and Kate Beckinsale in this one), but he is discontented with his life. Then he discovers that everything he thinks he knows about himself is fictitious and all of his memories have been implanted. There are plenty of plot twists, some different from the first film and lots of CGI. Eventually Quaid meets up with Melina (Jessica Biel), who is one of the rebels and he learns he is not who he thinks he is.

Essentially, this new version goes from one chase scene to another and some of these scenes director Len Wiseman orchestrates are exciting. But after a while they become tiresome and redundant. The script doesn’t call for a lot of acting from Farrell, but Beckinsale brings a menacing edge to her one-note character, making her a formidable villain. Biel provides a serviceable good-girl counterweight, but I have to wonder why she isn’t blond. After all, in the original bad girl Sharon Stone’s blondness contrasts with Rachel Ticotin’s dark beauty and since Beckinsale has dark hair, you’d think Wiseman would go for blonde in her opposite. Bill NIghy is underused as the leader of the rebellion. There’s plenty to excite the eye in Patrick Tatopoulios’ set design, but not much of the story or character development to engage the emotions or the mind. Unfortunately, this “Total Recall” doesn’t measure up. You’d be better off renting the original. 8/3/12