Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy, John Cho
Rating: (M)
3 stars (out of 5)
The first Total Recall may not have been Arnold Schwarzenegger's finest but it definitely rates in his top five films.
Replacing Arnie and co-star Sharon Stone with Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale might not seem a great start but this Total Recall (Rialto and Hoyts) has the verve to reshape the story into a thriller and, if you are prepared to accept it on those terms, it is enjoyable.
Instead of travelling to Mars, this future Earth pressed the nuke button and now there are only two habitable locations - the United Federation of Britain (or UFB) and the Colony (otherwise known as Australia).
They have built a huge tunnel through the Earth's core so the working class of the Colony can travel to the wealthy UFB each day to do the donkey work.
Farrell is Douglas Quaid, a working stiff who dreams of better things. He decides to visit Rekall, a company that provides its clients with fake memories, but it all goes wrong and he discovers he was some sort of spy who had his memory erased. Now he has to figure out what was so important before the authorities track him down.
Best thing: This future world, while a tribute to Blade Runner, has enough texture and detail to keep you interested.
Worst thing: It feels as if every artistic choice in the film was made on the basis of "Will this look cool?" rather than "Does it make sense, is it believable?"
See it with: Someone as keen on watching Kate Beckinsale doing stunts in skin-tight pants as director (and husband) Len Wiseman is on filming it.
- By Christine Powley.
