Don’t get Total Recall

I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by Total Recall, a remake of a movie with the same name by Paul Verhoeven, but I wasn’t.  Instead I was just bored.  It is easy to see how this movie was made, Sci-Fi is big again thanks to Avatar, and it is based on a well liked short story by Philip K. Dick, but it is laking that spark that makes a good movie.

The basic plot is that a factory worker dreams he is something more, and he decides to go to Rekall to make memories to support his dreams, but when he goes there he finds out that he is indeed a double agent on a mission to save The Colony, post bio-war Australia, from the British Federation, post bio-war Britain (why do they get to keep their name?).

This movie screams, “made in a boardroom”.  A bunch of executives got together and went through a check list: find a Sci-Fi script, “Hey what about Total Recall?”, check.  Find cheep director that can handle action, “Hey Les Wismen did Underworld!”, check.  Get beautiful known actors that don’t demand a lot of money, Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel, check, check, and check.  Set design, “Didn’t Philip K. Dick also write the story Blade Runner was based on? So lets steal that look!”, check. Film, print, and release.

What do you get after all of that?  A film that lacks passion.  When watching this movie I could just tell that no one on this project really wanted to make a new Total Recall.  They were just doing their jobs and picking up a pay check, and because of that it is hard to care about what is happening on the screen.  It is like a pretty flip book.

The movie is competently made, and I don’t think anyone embarrasses themselves, but they should all pick projects they truly want to do in the future.  I am going to do my best to forget about Total Recall.