“Total Recall” is a remake of a 1990 film starring Arnold
Schwarzenegger; the film is set in 2081, and follows Douglas Quaid
(Colin Farrell), a factory worker from the Colony, one of two remaining
superpowers on Earth. Quaid visits Rekall, a company that implants
artificial memories, and is soon caught up in a web of intrigue as his
suppressed memories of life as a spy surface. As Quaid attempts to sort
out what is real, he uncovers the devious plans of Chancellor Vilos
Cohaagan (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the United Federation of
Britain.
The whole film suffered from an attempt to replace quality acting and
a multidimensional storyline with computer generated effects. The first
view of the Colony had a beautifully grimy, high-tech look that called
“Blade Runner” to mind, but the story and the acting never brought to
fruition audience expectations. The characters were shallow and rushed
from place to place, mainly because of constant attacks from robotic
soldiers known as “synthetics”, that popped up like clockwork anytime a
character stopped to take a break.
The plot was bland and generic, following the same outline as many
other science fiction thrillers, and made no attempt to improve or match
the quality of the original film. The entire story was predictable and
almost immediately forgotten by both the characters and the audience.
Nothing that happened left an impact on anyone, and the few
eyebrow-raising moments of genuine surprise were ruined by the cast
struggling to convey believable emotion.
The original film was no cinematic masterpiece, but it did have a few
timeless scenes that made the viewer smile, and several of those scenes
were awkwardly inserted into the remake. There was a surprising twist
in the film, but it was at most a half-hearted attempt.
The few supporting actors who shined did so only in comparison to the
rest of the cast. Bryan Cranston was wonderful as the villain Cohaagan
and made his role far more memorable than any of the main characters.
Cranston’s mix of dry humor and blatant cruelty would not have been
notable on its own, but against the backdrop of bland, monotonous
performances, it stood out like a beacon. Another remarkable character
was that of Harry (Bokeem Woodbine), Quaid’s friend and coworker.
Woodbine performed masterfully as Harry, but regrettably appeared in
only a few short scenes.
“Total Recall” is not worth seeing unless the viewer is a fan of
nonstop computer generated action. Aside from some beautiful long shots
of the Colony and several unexpected performances by minor characters,
there was not much that made “Total Recall” stand out from the crowd of
big-budget, CGI-heavy films that shined this summer.
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