Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld) makes movies for the ADD cinema-going crowd. Those who need an explosion, a CGI effect or a shoot-out every four minutes to get through a movie and always bigger than the one that came before it. They need black and white characters easily defined, certainly no shades of grey, and plot spoon-fed to them by moronic dialogue and inane expositions of the lowest but frequent order. He makes movies for the juvenile and is nothing more than a hack for hire who lucked out with a property that appealed to a niche vampire audience and that led him to be 'sought after' as a talent. The former art director and prop guy has spent the last couple of years shamefully moving from sci-fi property to sci-fi property, threatening remakes of Escape From New York and an adaptation of Gears of War... before settling last year on
Sony's Total Recall to be the recipient of his repellent direction.
Colin Farrell was locked in for the contemporary remake in the lead role of Doug Quaid a while ago, a character originally portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 90's film. The excellent
Bryan Cranston joined as the villain recently and his casting seems genius, granted. And I could take or leave
Jessica Biel but
her addition yesterday as one of the female leads isn't one that will get me up in arms. Especially as she's likely to be playing Lori, the wife of Quaid, who in the original was played by a feisty but often hollow Sharon Stone. We can certainly see the similarities...
But there's no denying that with Wiseman directing from a
Kurt Wimmer screenplay (Salt) and to be produced by
Neil H. Mortizs production shingle Original Films (of course, despite they mostly seem to produce remakes & sequels) - there's just nothing to see here. Who wants an explosion CGI fest of Phillip K. Dick's
We Remember It For You Wholesale? Who needs that? Total Recall will open next August... probably best to expect the worst.