Variety
Crazy new gadgets, vigorous action sequences and a thorough production-design makeover aren't enough to keep Total Recall from feeling like a near-total redundancy.
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Total Recall (2012)
A re-adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s classic short story, set in a futuristic sci-fi world where memories can be relived, for a price. For factory worker Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he's got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip of Rekall - a company that implants artificial memories - sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man.
Finding himself on the run from the police - controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world - Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen.
2012Rating: M, contains violence, offensive language & nudity118 minsUSA, Canada
ActionScience FictionThriller
- Director:
- Len Wiseman ('Die Hard 4.0', 'Underworld', 'Underworld: Evolution')
- Writer:
- Mark BombackJames VanderbiltKurt Wimmer
- Cast:
- Colin FarrellKate BeckinsaleJessica BielBryan CranstonBill NighyJohn ChoBokeem Woodbine
Total Recall (2012) / Reviews
Total Film
Entertaining in small doses, but gruelling at two hours, Wiseman's derivative, spec-hackular upgrade bins the twisted wit and meaty thrills of the Arnie original.
Full reviewThe Washington Post
So what makes this 2012 Total Recall superior to the Arnie model? For starters, there's an actual actor in the starring role.
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The New York Times
The ambitions of the filmmakers lie in the direction of maximum noise and minimum sense.
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Roger Ebert
Total Recall is well-crafted, high energy sci-fi. Like all stories inspired by Philip K. Dick, it deals with intriguing ideas. It never touched me emotionally, though, the way the 1990 film did, and strictly speaking, isn't necessary.
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Hollywood Reporter
The outcome is engaging enough, although not entirely satisfying from either a genre or narrative standpoint, lacking both substance and a degree of imagination.
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