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What is real? Total Recall – 2012
So… this. You know, I’m not sure this movie really needed to be made but part of me is kinda’ glad they did. You see, I really loved the first one when it came out in 1990. Total Recall had a lot going for it: great special effects (for the time), cool story, Ahhnuld was still a complete bad ass, there was a cat fight with a couple hot chicks and who could forget the Martian woman with 3 boobs? What more could you want? Well, a lot actually.
Time as not been kind to the original Total Recall. After more than 20 years it’s damn near unwatchable now that we’re all grown up. Not that it would stop me from watching it anyway. Nostalgia has a way of making even bad movies into favorites over time. You recognize all the failings of plot, production values and, oh my God!, acting but you can still enjoy it by reaching back to the time you saw it with your buddies on opening day and you were all blown away.
You remember that scene where Quaid is fighting Richter on the open elevator? The whole movie he’s been chased and shot at by that guy and you knew the big fight scene was going to be epic when he finally caught up to Quaid. Well, the fight was pretty damn good, what with Richter getting his arms chopped off and all, but what made that scene was Quaid’s one-liner at the end. He’s still holding on to Richter’s severed arms and he says "See you at za paarty, Rischta!" then tosses his arms after him as Richter plunges to his death. Classic Ahhnuld! My friends and I still quote that line more than 20 years later!
Despite my love of the original I’d still like to see what can be done with that story today – better special affects, a tighter story, better acting and a higher level of realism. I want all that and the hot chicks and kick ass fight scenes and explosions too. The trailer makes it look like they’ll be able to deliver on most of those. The world looks gritty and gnarly like a Bladerunner/Fifth Element mash up and they seem to have replaced Johnny Cab with flying cars which is all to the good. The chicks are a huge improvement in the hot department, if not the acting, and Collin Farrell’s got some Jason Bourne type moves in his repertoire and he’s only got to be a better actor than 90’s Ahhnuld so I feel pretty good about that. Over all I think the trailer looks pretty good – just not awesome – so I’m feeling a bit optimistic right now.
The big questions in my mind are story and directing. The story should be simple enough if they just tweak the original a bit. I’ve never read the original short story, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, but if they’ve gone back to that for material I’ll count that as a plus.
The director, Len Wiseman, is unknown to me and his resume seems a bit light. Based on his director credits I have to hope that Total Recall is his break-out movie. Of course, if you like the Underworld saga you may feel differently. At the very least he’s not Michael Bay.
It’s a long way ’till August and we’ll have tons more trailers and behind the scenes footage before then to make a better judgment but for now I’m in. There are still a dozen ways that this movie could suck, and frankly, I suspect it will suck, but I’m still going to see it if only for the special effects and the hope that they manage one scene as great as Quaid vs. Richter. Oh, and the 3 boobs. Some things are sacred. See you at za moovie, Rischta!
7 Comments
Gritty indeed, with a distinct Star Wars Trooper feel to it *wink*
The preview looks great, the special effects can only be an improvement, and the acting can only be better. Dare I say it will be good? Hey, if they just avoid the bulging face moment at the end (and the fact that he doesn’t even have pink eye 5 minutes later), it’ll be a far superior film.
Not a big fan of Wiseman. The Underworld films are silly and that last Die Hard film was atrocious. At least he’s wise enough (hehehe) to feature his lovely wife, Kate Beckinsale, in most of his films.
@Emil: You had to say it didn’t you? @Rico: Yeah, the face bulging bit is one of the more cringe worthy scenes in the film!
@B.E.Earl: Yeah, I’m not of fan of his previous work either. I hope he brings more to the film than his gorgeous wife.
I do like that BladeRunnerFifthElement mashup environment, but I wonder how this movie was pitched. Did people really want to make a new interpretation of the original film (because that’s what it is, not really a new version of the PKD story) or did someone say "we need a sci-fi Bourne flick for the summer!" The PKD story messes with your ideas of what’s real and how we should act on our perception of reality so much that it really can’t make for a good movie, in my opinion, unless you’ve got a director and an audience really up for an experimental flick. Perhaps I should rephrase, the PKD story as is can’t be made into a good action/adventure flick that still reflects the story well, I think. Why is it that amnesiacs remembering (or not) that they are awesome secret agents is a popular genre? Bourne, this, Wolverine, etc. I’m not a big fan of Wiseman’s either: Underworld was entertaining, but its sequels are pants-on-head ridiculous. As Dave said, though, at least it isn’t being directed by Michael Bay, although the preview does look like his work!
It’s just going to be an action flick, rest assured. Carbon copy of the old one, with neater SFX and grittier cinematography. And I stand by my Star Wars Trooper animadversion 🙂
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