Total Recall
2012
***
Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho, Bill Nighy, Bokeem Woodbine, Steve Byers, Dylan Scott Smith
By the end of the 21st century, Britain and Australia, connected by a lift through the planet's core, are the last two habitable places on Earth. Douglas Quaid is a married factory worker who suffers from recurring dreams. His visit to Rekall, a company that can implant artificial memories, forces him to reassess everything he knows about himself. Paul Verhoeven's 1990 movie was a noisy and confusing science fiction spectacle which hasn't aged well. Len Wiseman's remake strips away the complexities of the story and cranks up the action, and it's all the better for it. This is no masterpiece either, but it is a fast-paced, relatively entertaining, and nicely designed scifi action movie. Inspired by Philip K. Dick's We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, like the original.
