Friday 24 May 2013

Total Recall (2012) mini-musing...

What's it about?
Len "Die Hard 4.0" Wiseman's action-fest sci-fi that is part remake of the 1990 movie of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and part re-telling of the source text by Philip K. Dick ("We Can Remember It For You Wholesale") about an apparently average worker drone who wants something more from life, and seeks implanted memories from Rekall, only to discover he's actually the leader of a resistance movement.
Who would I recognise in it?
Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston and others.

Click "READ MORE" below to see if it was any good...

Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Everywhere you look - CGI - and practically every minute of the movie - an action sequence (drowned in CGI). There are moments of high-mindedness that don't work for all the insincere CG-infused action, and there are quips and references to the 1990 movie (three tits, two weeks) that don't work for all the delusions of gritty grandeur. The design of the film is pretty nifty - even if a considerable amount of it is ripped-off from Blade Runner - and Farrell's always an enjoyable screen presence, but he - like all of the actors (particularly Cranston) - are completely wasted. Surprisingly, for a film that's in such a rush to move from one meaningless action scene to the next, it drags something awful and at two hours long it unfortunately feels more like four (at least). High gloss on a razor-thin layer of pretending to be something more, this Total Remake (yeah, I had to) is all crash, bang, wallop - and all for nothing. Shite, but at least I have fond memories of the 1990 version.

Posting has been rather scant this month, admittedly, but I've been distracted with other things. I'll be looking to get some more blogging done soon.

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