Totall Recall (remake) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A man discovers he is a secret agent fighting for a resistance group trying to save the world in the future.

Review: This was a seriously unnecessary remake given how great the original still is. Gone is all the wonder and depth and replaced by flashy visuals and a slurry of every sci-fi city in film history. The sad thing about this film is that with enough tweaks this could have just been its own story. I kept thinking, why didn't they just try and create their own vision of the future, but I suppose that's not profitable. This has nothing to do with Mars, debates about dreaming versus reality, aliens, or mutants. Instead, the world has been destroyed by a war with only two regions safe, and now a growing conflict is forming between the rich of the Euro region and the poor of the Australian region. Apparently they are going to use robots to take over the world (like we haven't seen that before), and some how only this rendition of Quaid knows what's up. The action is decent, the effects are good, and there are some fun moments, but other than a few cool set pieces, this is just a mediocre retelling of a superior film. The ending is terrible and even the one-liners are unforgivably stupid; you can't have others trying to be Arnold! I wanted to rate this movie higher, but the more I thought about it, the lower I had to rate it. A total waste of what could have been a better standalone film. It's just barely worth a view mostly because it could be considered an okay movie if you pretend the original is not real. The only other highlight is that Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale are looking pretty scrumptious. However, fans of the original should definitely not expect anything but disappointment from start to finish.

Notable Moment: The scene with the three-breasted woman. It is pointless and makes no sense in this version, but I am easily entertained by such things and glad they had sense enough to include such an iconic moment.

Final Rating: 5.5/10