Total Recall - A Re-Imagining

Got out last night with some good friends to see Total Recall starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, and Kate Beckinsale.
A re-imagining of the 1990 film featuring everybody's favourite Governator, this remake has alot going for it. 

I still find it hard to believe that the first film came out 22 years ago!

The nostalgia factor is very high on this film, alot of people of my generation saw the original, and while it may have been far from brilliant, the special effects were certainly ahead of their time.  The story was also pretty solid, with some pretty cool plot twists.

Special Effects on the remake of the film are really incredible.  The amount of cg work that has gone into all of the sunning  environments is pretty remarkable.  Both the United Federation of Britain and The Colony featured in the film look ultra realistic and are seamlessly integrated with the real world locations featured in the film.  The cybernetic law enforcement agents also look great.  By far the most interesting scenes of the film are all CG, these being the slick hover car chase, and the reversed gravity shoot out on "the fall".

The cast is also solid, with Farrell, Biel, and Beckinsale turning in great action hero performances.  Farrel is actually more convincing than Arnold ever was in the role.  Don't get me wrong, there is all most no depth here, but really you shouldn't be expecting any!  Kudos also go to the team of stunt doubles that actually make all of the stunt work look and feel effortless.

Where this movie suffers is story.  While the writers have kept some of the key elements of the original, gone are the mutants and alien technology of the first film.  Now the plot centers on the the aquistion of habitable living space after global biochemical war. 
Farrell's character is essentially the same as Arnie's...a super spy with a wiped memory, placed in protective custody with no knowledge of his former self.Stuck in a dead end job, he is tempted to make a trip to Rekall, a memory enhancement service, to escape from his dreary daily grind.  Keep in mind that he thinks he's married to sexy Kate Beckinsale, so life can't be all that bad...

When his memory enhancement is cut short by a squad of shoot first ask questions storm troopers, Farrell goes on the run, unravelling his foggy past with the help of his old girlfriend. Enter Biel, and the Resistance, a group of freedom fighters who want the Colony to Succeed from the UFB.  Biel is super sexy as always, and full kudos should go to her wardrobe designer for making her look uber hot in urban combat attire.

I actually recently saw a interview with Biel where she compared this film to the treatment that the Batman franchise recently got from Christopher Nolan, which seems like a bit of a stretch to me...yes they are both re-imaginings of an original, but where the new Batman trilogy was a triumph, this film seems destined to be forgotten about in about 6 months time.  It just doesn't have the staying power of the original.

However, as a summer action movie, it is a solid offering, with lots of shiny CGI, big ka-booms, and copious amounts of eye candy for everyone.