Total Recall (2012)

A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.

Director:

Len Wiseman

Writers:

Kurt Wimmer (screenplay), Mark Bomback (screenplay),

Stars:

Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Farrell	...	Douglas Quaid / Carl Hauser
Kate Beckinsale	...	Lori Quaid
Jessica Biel	...	Melina
Bryan Cranston	...	Cohaagen
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Harry
Bill Nighy	...	Matthias
John Cho	...	McClane
Will Yun Lee	...	Marek
Milton Barnes	...	Resistance Fighter
James McGowan	...	Military Adjutant
Natalie Lisinska	...	Bohemian Nurse
Michael Therriault	...	Bank Clerk
Stephen MacDonald	...	Slacker
Mishael Morgan	...	Rekall Receptionist
LinLyn Lue	...	Resistance Woman

Storyline

In the near future Earth almost uninhabitable, only two territories remain, The United Federation of Britain or UFB, and the Colony. The UFB has been trying to make the Colony part of them but a group led by a man named Matthias and rumor is that a UFB security man, Hauser is helping them but word is that he is dead. Douglas Quaid, a man who lives in the UFB who is married to Lori, has been having nightmares of him being in some kind of battle with another woman, that ends with him getting captured. He decides to go to Rekall, a place where a person can experience something by having it implanted in his mind. When the memory he chooses is about to be implanted, it is detected that he has memories of being a spy, that's when they pull guns on him but some UFB security people show up and shoot up the place. Quaid goes home and tells Lori what happened, that's when she tries to kill him. He asks her why is she trying to kill him, she tells him that she's not his wife, she's UFB security ...

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Plot Keywords:

factory | factory worker | on the run | spy | dream | 

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Taglines:

What is real?

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, some sexual content, brief nudity, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

El vengador del futuro

Filming Locations:

Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$25,577,758 (USA) (3 August 2012)

Gross:

$58,877,969 (USA) (5 October 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Total Recall, Original Film, Prime Focus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 130 min (extended director's cut)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender were considered for the role of Quaid.

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Goofs

As Hauser plays the excerpt of Ludwig van Beethoven on the piano in his apartment to unlock The Key, there are piano keys which either remain depressed after his fingers leave the key or, more likely, press themselves (like a pianola) revealing that Colin Farrell is not actually playing the excerpt for real.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Melina: Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.185 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Typhoon"
Written by Ebow Graham, Pavan Mukhi, Luca Gulotta and Joseph Erskine
Performed by Foreign Beggars featuring Chasing Shadows
Courtesy of Dented Records

User Reviews

Well...

Well, reviewing this movie can be quite difficult... How am I supposed to evaluate it? As a stand-alone movie or as a remake? Because if you are not falling from, um, Mars you probably know this is a remake of one of the best Arnold Schwarzenegger movies ever...

Hmm... Let's see. How about starting with its' critical acclamation? I guess you can easily see the movie's rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If not, I recommend seeing it if you want a good laugh. 30%. That is it. Needless to say, any sane person would be shocked. Not because the movie is too good for that rating. You don't need to like the movie... You don't even need to have seen it to know something is very, very wrong here... I mean, 'Die Hard 4.0' has 81%... How the hell can the next movie created by the same writer/director have almost three times lower rating? I know, writers/directors don't always make movies of equal quality but the quality NEVER fluctuates that much. A little research about RT helped me realize a few things.

First, critics tend to give sequels of beloved franchises high ratings

• of all movies of that kind that I checked only one - 'Die Hard 3' -

had less than 65%. Everything else - even the abysmal 'Attack of the Clones' - was rated as "Fresh".

Second, critics tend to have a certain bias against sci-fi, fantasy and horror if they are not directed by a supposedly great name like Ridley Scott or Nolan. 'Willow' - a fantasy genre icon - has 49%. Go figure.

Third, Rotten Tomatoes is not even a good representative of critics' opinion... I mean, does anybody believe the critics considered the last Indiana Jones movie better than 'Forrest Gump'? Check their awards and you will see. And yet.. Go and see. So much for RT being a good source...

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I wasted your time with this but it just had to be told. Now, about the movie itself. Well, it IS good. It has its' shortcomings, mainly in the writing department, but it stands on its' own.

As a stand alone movie... Well, after 'Prometheus' disappointed everyone, TR2012 is probably the best sci-fi movie of the year. It has a great story, great chemistry between the actors and the writing is at least acceptable although sometimes flawed. The acting was good from all actors. The only slight disappointment comes from Bill Nighy - he delivered a fine performance but he looked like he spent no more than an hour on the movie set. However his character, although important, has no more than 10 minutes of screen time so... Action-wise this movie is EXACTLY what 'Die Hard 4.0' was - relatively bloodless, wonderfully captured and complicatedly choreographed. Smooth camera movement, NO shaky cam, extremely long cuts - look at the first fight in the trailer and you will get it. And, believe me, the action looks better than that on the big screen. What is also worth mentioning is the fact that the movie feels more real than most sci-fi blockbusters recently, mostly because the use of CGI and green screens is as minimal as possible. I don't know why so many people think it is loaded with CGI. It isn't, trust me.

Overall, as a stand alone movie the new 'Total Recall' works, and it works well.

As a remake... Well, it did keep the basic story but that is it. Verhoeven's humor is gone. The blood is gone. The gore is gone. Mars is gone. Mutants are gone. Richter is gone. Arnold and his one-liners are gone. Although the story is basically the same, the new movie is completely different from the original. There are a few nods to the 1990 movie but that is it. This is a new movie.

If you want to see the old one, see it. It is great. If you haven't seen it you will love it. If you already have seen it... you will love it again.

The new movie is different. If you see it with an open mind you will probably like it at least a bit. Give it a chance. It is a good movie and a great entertainment.