When the news came that Len Wiseman, director of Underworld and Live Free and Die Hard, was to helm a remake of sci-fi classic Total Recall, there was a collective sigh from fans the world over. Why remake something as inherently original as Total Recall? And with Colin Farrell as Douglas Quid? How was he supposed to top Arnold Schwarzenegger? Looking back at the finished result, then, the answer to those questions is clear. There was no point in remaking Total Recall, and Colin Farrell doesn't come anywhere close to reaching the memorable heights that Schwarzenegger did back in 1990. That said, Total Recall is not the awful remake that everyone claims it to be: sure, it's familiar, lacks punch, and makes lots of bad narrative choices, but that doesn't mean it isn't a fun action flick from start to finish. The fact that it's of the throwaway variety matters not. And there are things to like: the action scenes are the total highlight of the flick, not to mention that - as a sort of bonus - you have Bryan Cranston in full-on scenery chewing mode as villain Vilos Cohaagen. What's more, the remake boasts an impressive production design; the world feels intricately realised. In need of a revaluation is this one, for sure.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
