Cast:Colin
Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho, Bill Nighy; Direction:
Len Wiseman; Story: based from Philip K. Dick’s “We Can
Remember It For You Wholesale”;
Screenplay:Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback;
Cinematography:Paul Cameron; Editing:Christian
Wagner; Music:HrryGregson-William; Producers:Neal H. Mortiz, Toby Jaffe; Genre: Sci-Fi Action; Running Time:118 minutes; Location:
United Federation of Britain / Colony; Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Technical: 3
Moral: 3
CINEMA Rating: V14
After
the 3rd World War by the end of the 21st century, there
are only two liveable territories on earth: the upscale cosmopolitan center of
politics and economics in the United Federation of Britain (UFB) and the cramped
Chinatown-like Colony, believed to be the former Australia. The Colony factory worker
who at the UFB must travel to the other side of the world via the “Fall”, a
gravity transport at the core of the Earth.
One of the factory workers Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) has been having
recurrent nightmares of him escaping with another woman and being caught by the
robot soldiers of the UFB. He does not
tell his wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale) but constantly vents how humdrum his life
is turning out to be. He decides to visit Rekall, a company that can implant
memories to a person to allow him to live out his fantasies, only the chosen
memory should not be in anyway true to the person. Douglas chooses a spy
adventure and undergoes a routine test. He fails the test and the entire Rekall
is attacked by the SWAT team. Surprisingly, Douglas counter-attacks when he is
about to get arrested. He returns home and confesses to Lori what just
transpired. When Lori starts attacking him, he realizes he has been living a
fantasy life where false memories were implanted to him to erase his true
identity as Carl Hausser. As he dodges attempts on his life, he meets Melina
(Jessica Biel), the girl in his dreams and his real lover. He attempts to put
together pieces of his real life and rejoins Melina’s cause to fight the
oppression of the UFB chancellor.
Total Recall is a remake of the
Schwarzenegger 1990 movie, although the producers claim it is more of an
adaptation of Philip Dick’s short story. Its CGIs and visual effects are
impressive and keep the audience glued to the screen. The action sequences are
equally captivating. Colin, Beckinsale and Biel have an intrinsically authentic
chemistry and rapport. Their encounters
and scenes together or individually are moments to watch for. Total Recall succeeds as an
action-packed film but sadly story-wise it falls short. The high-pack chases
are over extended that there was really little time to develop the characters
and the narrative. (This is quite puzzling since the basic plot has already
been laid out both in the short story and the 1990 film.) The filmmakers paid
too much attention to the “wow” factors like effects, high impact action sequences
and production design and left a more basic component lacking—the storyline.
Sacrifice
for the welfare of the underprivileged, fighting for a cause and standing up to
oppression—these are some of the socio-political issues that the film addresses.
Oppression may succeed for some time, but it is human nature to protect not
just the self but life itself.
But more
than these, there is an in-your-face message against government’s population
control solutions—kill someone less important so that the chosen few can live.
The method that the UFB chose was blunt and brutal and can easily be condemned
by an ordinary viewer. But analysing what is taking place in our own nation
today—this is the same step that the authorities forcing to enact certain laws
and bills that are clearly against life are doing. Although they are targeting
the unborn and attacking women’s fertility in the guise of a better economics,
health and other benefits, the steps being imposed are anti-life, attacks the
weak and disadvantaged.
