Total Recall (2012)

When was the last time you saw Kate Beckinsale in a negative role? The word you would be looking for maybe “Never”. And I would love to be informed about an instance if it ever happened in the past. Just another piece of useless info that I may find useful sometime . Having said that, even if this is a first of its kind, I strongly believe that she should not stop picking up such roles. In the nearly 2 hours that you will stay in the hall, she is probably the only reason you will have to actually stay in your seat.

Scenes without Beckinsale, pale in comparison to the rest of the movie. Especially because you have 2 of THE most over rated actors in Hollywood hogging a big chunk of the screen time. An Irish man called Colin Farrell and a Latina looking hottie called Jessica Biel. Both of them are fine human specimens and worth ogling at. But unfortunately, that’s where it ends.

Very rarely has Colin Farrell shown signs of being a good actor. Maybe in The Recruit and Phone Booth. Total Recall doesn’t do much to change it. Most scenes are splattered with the registered Trade Mark constipated, weight of the world on my shoulders look. And the lesser said of Ms. Biel, the better – only in the acting department. Actually, in this one she slips to an all time low I think. Unfortunately, with only 3 key characters hogging the screen time, it gets really difficult.

Total Recall (2012) is almost identical to the 1990 movie of the same name which starred the Austrian born, ex-governor of the great state of California (USA). It is based on the book by famed SciFi writer, Philip Dick. The book is titled “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”. Credit to the makers of this version that they actually call it out as “Based on the movie – Total Recall (1990)”.

While a lot of the paraphernalia and the breaks in the story line have been removed in this version, the overall concept continues to remain the same. Chemical warfare has got the world to almost an end. There are 2 places left to stay in – The United Federation of Britain (UFB) which is erstwhile Europe & The Colony which is esrstwhile Australia. Both are connected by a mode of transportation called “The Fall” which is a high velocity automobile that goes straight through Mother Earth passing the core on the way.

Douglas Quaid (Farrell), a citizen of The Colony, is a man who is bored of his job that doesn’t seem to be making a difference to anyone’s life. In an attempt to add spice to his life, he goes to a local agency called “Rekall” (yes it is with a K and not C) which promises great memories without changing your life in general. Quaid is married to Lori (Beckinsale) and is troubled with some dreams which shows him trying to escape soldiers of the UFB and saving a girl (Biel) whose name he doesn’t know. At Rekall, he signs up for a memory of a “spy” and as they would say – the roller coaster begins.

Total Recall – this version – is again not upto the mark that it could have reached. Len Wiseman is a strong SciFi director and makes up for the lack of intensity with SFX that are quite good. But after all of that, he only had his Underworld star to bank on and doesn’t really come up with a block buster. Not a must watch. 5 on 10.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi297444633/