Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Total Recall Review - 2 Stars

Many recall the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger si fi action classic “Total Recall” from the 1990s.  Now a new version adds some technology and a good actor Colin Farrell hoping for an improved 2012 version but I’m afraid the results are mixed.   This reboot starts well, with Farrell living the life of a working stiff with a beautiful wife played by Kate Beckinsale.  Maybe that should have been his first clue that this was a fantasy.  Soon our hero wanders into an artificial fantasy provider only to discover his memories have been implanted:  He’s actually a double agent turned rebel.  We learn wife Beckinsale has been sent to kill him.  The chase begins. Picked up by Jessica Biel, whom I never thought could  match Beckinsale’s anger or toughness in this match, the two run and dodge and barely escape one mishap after another until they make their way to the underground and ultimately save what’s left of society.  I think Colin Farrell’s a great actor and I’m up for anything with kate Beckinsale but this remake falls short of the original and feels like a bad copy of several other sci fi movies. You’ll need “Total Recall” to find anything worth remembering in this misfired adventure.  Does it deliver what it promises?  Sci Fi Adventure.  Is it entertaining?  Runs out of gas.  Is it worth the price of admission?  Skip it.