Plot

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.

The planet has been decimated by chemical war in the late 21st century, leaving only two nations -- the United Federation of Britain and the Colony. Douglas Quaid (Farrell) is a factory worker with a stable job and a loving wife (Beckinsale), but upon learning that a company named Rekall could grant him the memory of the ultimate espionage adventure, he decides to take a virtual vacation. But in the midst of having the new memories implanted, something goes haywire. He's branded a spy, the authorities close in, and he quickly flees for his life. Later, Quaid discovers that his life and memories were implanted. He joins forces with rebel soldier Melina (Jessica Biel) on a mission to track down Matthias (Bill Nighy), the head of a resistance movement that's been labeled a terrorist organization by the tyrannical Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston). Cohaagen seeks to control the entire free world. The harder Quaid fights to defeat him, the clearer it becomes that his memory had been altered long before he walked into Rekall.—Chris

For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid, even though he's got a beautiful wife who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life - real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man as he finds himself on the run from the police.—Sony Pictures

Douglas Quaid is a factory worker with a beautiful wife living in a futuristic world where the majority of the earth has been rendered uninhabitable. For Quaid, Rekall (a process by which false memories are implanted into a subjects head) seems like just the "getaway" he needs. Quaid finds himself thrust into the midst of a global conspiracy when the procedure to implant a secret agent mission into his memory goes wrong - or does it?—ALystrup

At the end of 21st Century, after World War 3 (a global chemical warfare) devastates the Earth, the remaining habitable territory is at minimum and is divided into two - the United Federation of Britain (UFB) located on the British Isles and northwestern Europe, and the Colony, spanning all of Australia. Living space is now the most premium resource. Factory workers from the Colony commute to the UFB each day via "The Fall", a gravity elevator running through the Earth's core. The Fall journey one way takes 17 minutes. The disparity in living conditions has resulted in a group of people called the Resistance, deemed terrorists by the UFB, who seek to improve living conditions in the Colony. The UFB is also struggling with lack of space for all its citizens.

Colony worker Douglas Quaid has been having unsettling dreams of being a secret agent partnered with an unnamed woman. Together, they are under attack and fighting their way out of an unmarked facility where Quaid was being kept captive. The woman manages to escape, but Quaid is captured alive. Quaid promises the woman that he would find her and begs her to leave. This is when Quaid wakes up in his apartment in Australia.

Quaid is married to Lori, who comments on another bombing in UFB on a passenger train, done by the resistance. Lori is an emergency aid worker and is called out to the location of the bombing. The previous attack was 6 weeks ago. Carl Hauser is suspect to be the perpetrator, and also the 2nd in command of Resistance leader Matthias.

Tired of his factory job (in the UFB) building police robots with his friend Harry, he visits Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories. Quaid (Colin Farrell) decides to visit Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories. Rekall employee McClane (John Cho) convinces Quaid to be implanted with memories of a secret agent. As Quaid is tested before being implanted, McClane discovers that Quaid has real memories of being a spy. McClane and his co-workers are suddenly gunned down by a SWAT team. Quaid instinctively reacts and kills the officers before escaping. 20 officers were reported killed in the news as a result of Quaid's counterattack.

He returns home to his wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale), but Lori attempts to kill Quaid, revealing that she is not his wife of seven years, but an undercover UFB agent who has been monitoring him for the past six weeks. Lori says UFB Chancellor Cohaagen has gone to great lengths to hide Quaid from the Resistance, so he must be someone really important. Quaid manages to escape, and Hammond (Dylan Scott Smith), a man claiming to be a former associate, contacts Quaid via a mobile phone embedded in Quaid's hand and directs him to a nearby safe-deposit box. Quaid cuts the phone out of his hand to avoid being traced. In the safe-deposit box, Quaid discovers a recorded message from his former self, leading him to an apartment in UFB.

Meanwhile, Lori contacts Cohaagen who informs her that Quaid is a highly trained operative, and need to be captured alive for reasons that he only divulges to Lori.

While being pursued, Quaid meets Melina (Jessica Biel), the woman from his recurring dream. She helps him escape and reach the apartment. Once there, Quaid plays a piano to trigger a second recorded message which reveals that Quaid was formerly Carl Hauser, a highly skilled agent working for UFB Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) & was assigned to infiltrate the resistance & kill their leader named Matthias. But After meeting Melina & realizing that he has been fighting for the wrong side, he defects to the Resistance movement. Hauser was captured by the UFB and implanted with false memories.

The recording reveals a plot by Cohaagen to use the robotic police force to invade the Colony to provide more living space for UFB. He had discovered a kill code that can disable an army of robots that Cohaagen intends to use to destroy the Colony, but was captured by UFB agents and implanted with false memories to manipulate him.

The code can be recovered from his memory with the aid of the Resistance's leader, Matthias (Bill Nighy). Melina reveals that she was Hauser's lover, but the two got separated when Hauser was captured by the UFB. Melina was shot in the hand during the scuffle & has a scar to show for it. The police soon surround the building, trapping Quaid and Melina. Quaid's friend and colleague from the Colony, Harry (Bokeem Woodbine), arrives and tries to convince Quaid that he is still in a Rekall-induced dream and that killing Melina is the only way to wake up. A confused Quaid is initially uncertain until he sees a tear on Melina's cheek and shoots Harry. Lori pursues the pair, but they manage to escape.

Quaid and Melina escape another destructive chase from Lori & travel to meet with Matthias. While Matthias searches the memories of Quaid/Hauser, SWAT teams led by Lori and Cohaagen burst in. Quaid, Melina and Matthias are captured. Cohaagen informs Matthias that Quaid/Hauser was secretly working for him without even knowing it, owing to the alteration of his memories, and that the code was a fake to lure Matthias out of hiding. The whole idea of Quaid/Hauser having defected to the resistance had also been planted in Quaid/Hauser's mind by Cohaagen. Cohaagen kills Matthias and orders Hauser's mind restored, to make Quaid/Hauser loyal again. Cohaagen and Lori then take Melina away. Before Quaid's mind is altered, the mysterious Hammond, posing as a SWAT team member, helps Quaid escape, but Hammond is killed in the process.

Cohaagen then launches his invasion of the Colony through the Fall. Quaid arrives at the Fall and manages to sneak aboard. He installs timed explosives within the Fall and searches for Melina. After freeing her, Quaid and Melina manage to climb atop the Fall as it arrives at the Colony. As Quaid and Melina fight the soldiers and Cohaagen, Quaid's explosives detonate. Quaid and Melina jump off before the vessel plummets back into the tunnel and explodes underground, killing Cohaagen and destroying his army along with the Fall itself.

Waking up in an ambulance, Quaid is greeted by Melina. He notices the absence of a scar on her hand and realizes she is Lori in disguise. Quaid fights Lori and kills her. He and Melina then reunite as an advertisement for Rekall plays in the background. News channels declare the Colony's independence from the UFB.