Total Recall

Arnold Schwarznegger is a legend. For his acting ? Not really....hum hum, but hey, he knows how to make good action. Have he ever done a movie where he actually did a decent acting job ? Actually, yes. If you have seen the sci fi action classic movie Total Recall from 1990, i think you might agree that Schwarznegger did a good job. This is one of director Paul Verhoven´s best motion pictures, and an icon movie in the sci fi genre for some very original ideas. Now 22 years later we have a remake, and since it has taken a long time to make a remake, you might wonder if this is a worthy remake to such a classic movie ? This time around we have Colin Farrell on board as Douglas Quaid, but does it matter we have a good actor, or is this fresh update of Total Recall doomed to fail ?

World War 3 devastated earth, where only 2 parts of the world are habitable. United Federation of Britain and the Colony ( Australia ). Society is a mess, where people are trying to survive. Factory worker Douglas Quaid ( Colin Farrell ) is happily married to Lori ( Kate Beckinsale ). For quite some time, he have been curious to try Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories. Douglas locate Rekall, as he meets Rekall employee McClane ( John Cho ). McClane suggest he choose to be implated with a memory of a secret agent. Douglas agree, and the process begin. While checking Douglas history on screen, McClane notice something is wrong. Douglas have real memories of being a spy, as a SWAT team storms the building. Douglas manage to survive, but what happened ? Is this just an artificial memory, or reality ? As he go back home to meet wife Lori, he is attacked by her. Nothing is what it seems, Douglas is now considered a fugitve and very dangerous. Is he really a secret agent in real life, or is this all just a dream?

First thing first. The remake of Total Recall is nowhere near as good as the original movie. Is this still a fun ride ? Yes, for the most part. When it comes to action, Total Recall deliver a lot of stylish action, where you both get some classic elements and some fresh details. One problem i have is Colin Farrell, i usually love his acting, but here it feels like he lost his way. But don´t worry, this is an elegant action movie, packed with some really cool technical scenes. So even if Colin is not at the highlight of his career, Total Recall gives the audience a good time. I was kind of hoping that Peter Stormare would show up as a russian ganster, that would have been a fun detail in this crazy world of survivors.

Rating: DDD