Ask anyone what they remember about the original Total Recall and there will inevitably be a pause. Then they might not say what they're thinking because 10,000 to one they just pictured the woman with three naked breasts. Well, everyone will be happy that the breasts are back, but that's about all to look forward to in this pointless Hollywood re-make.
That's too bad since Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" was great and the pre-CGI film is still considered one of Schwarzenegger's best. But like many action films today, all the action is replaced with child-friendly, vide-game chase sequences.
Len Wiseman directs this mess and halfway through it's clear he is the same guy that made those Underworld films as he mashes the visual dark streets of Blade Runner with the ridiculous bloodless fights and chases of Underworld.
Even the plot, which has much resonance in today's political climate (rich bastards making the workers live in hell, including the staging of massive terrorist attacks to spend more money on the military) is dismissed as secondary to the "action" - that being Colin Farrell running around cutting and shooting people with no blood, or soul. That's not to say the acting is bad; everyone is fine, including the always-delightful Cranston. But you can only do so much in a film that looks and feels like a B-grade video game.
If you're looking for ho-hum, computer-animated chase scenes, you will be satisfied with this film. Or judging by box office receipts, you could do what everyone else did and see Batman again.
