Sword's Edge

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Total Recall (2012)

Last night I watched the Total Recall remake with my wife. I really wasn’t expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. It’s a fine actioner, but not outstanding. I would not call it a good movie. I would call it a fun movie with good actors, exciting action, and good special effects.

This movie is pretty standard fare for director Len Wiseman. If you’ve enjoyed his other work (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, and Live Free or Die Hard), you’ll probably enjoy this movie. Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, and Kate Beckinsale are all great. Bryan Cranston has a smaller role, but delivers as expected. None of these great actors were outstanding, but then again, the script was really pedestrian.

Maybe I’m viewing the original through the lens of nostalgia, but I remember Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall holding together really well. Almost all movies have plot holes of one size or another, but I don’t remember any that bugged me in the original. The remake is full of them. Put any logical scrutiny on the movie, and it’s going to fall apart.

In the end, it was a fun movie for a night when my wife was sick of studying and didn’t want to think too hard. And a good thing she didn’t, or the movie wouldn’t have been as enjoyable.

I give Total Recall (2012) 3 embedded memories out of 5.

You can find out more about the Total Recall remake at IMDB or Wikipedia.