My first comparison review was of RoboCop 1987 and RoboCop 2014. I did that because the 2014 film was a remake of the 1987 movie. That wasn't the first time we had two movies of the same name that involved the same plot. In 1990, Paul Verhoeven, who directed the original RoboCop, released Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Like RoboCop before it, Total Recall was an exceptionally violent film. In 2012, a new film with the name Total Recall was released. It appeared to be a remake of the Schwarzenegger movie, however, this is a misnomer. While RoboCop 2014 was indeed a remake of Paul Verhoeven's movie, the Total Recall films were actually based on a short story by legendary science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick called "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale." I've discussed the differences between re-makes, reboots and adaptations in a previous post. What we've got here are two films based on the same story, but they take a different approach.
Total Recall(1990)
Total Recall begins as two people are exploring Mars, Douglas Quaid(Arnold Schwarzenegger)and Melina(Rachel Ticotin). Suddenly Quaid slips and falls off the edge of a cliff and smashes the headgear he's wearing exposing him to Mars' harsh atmosphere. It's a dream as Quaid suddenly wakes up screaming. This wakes up his wife, Lori(Sharon Stone). After breakfast, Quaid goes to work and asks his friend Harry(Robert Costanzo)about ReKall, a place that specializes in artificial memories. After being warned against going there, Quaid still goes to ReKall. After selecting a vacation that has him going to Mars as an undercover agent, something goes wrong and Quaid goes crazy. After being tranquilized, it becomes apparent that Quaid HAS been to Mars, but had his memory erased. It's a pretty good story, with twists and turns all culminating into a pretty unique conclusion.
All the writing in the world wouldn't have helped the film if the cast wasn't up for it. This is a very solid cast. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone top off the cast of incredible actors. Michael Ironside plays Richter, a Mars agent out to kill Quaid. Ronny Cox brings his A-game as the film's main villain, Chairman Cohaagen. Rachel Ticotin plays Quaid's love interest, Melina, who is one tough chick. Marshall Bell plays the rebel leader, Kuato. Overall, the cast does a fantastic job bringing Mars to life.
This being a Paul Verhoeven picture, you would expect a certain degree of violence, and Total Recall is no slouch in that department. It's jam-packed with action. This movie is not for kids. It gets VERY bloody. One of the biggest stars of this movie is not even actor. He's a special effects artist. If you've seen John Carpenter's The Thing and the original RoboCop, then the name Rob Bottin should be familiar. He designed all the mutants features and all the practical effects that were used in this movie, and they are incredible. The man is a legend in the special effects world, second only to the late Stan Winston. So, yeah, some of the effects are gruesome, especially when people are blown out the airlocks into Mars' atmosphere. The music by the late Jerry Goldsmith gives the film a very fast-paced and exciting tone, which really elevates Total Recall above most movies.
If there's really any failing to Total Recall, it's that some of the blue-screen effects seem dated by today's standards, and while the film takes place on Mars, the short story didn't. These are minor nitpicks to what is otherwise a stellar action flick. Perfect casting, great make-up effects, wild story and great musical score really make Total Recall a bit of a classic science fiction film in my opinion. This sucker gets a perfect 10/10. Loved every minute of it.
Total Recall(2012)
The new Total Recall opens as Douglas Quaid(Collin Farrell)and Melina(Jessica Biel)are being chased by cybernetic cops when Quaid is captured, and Quaid suddenly wakes up. It appeared to be a nightmare. Quaid's wife, Lori(Kate Beckinsale) appears to be concerned about him. Later, Quaid is on his way to work with his friend, Harry(Bokeem Woodbine). After making it work in the United Federation of Britain, Quaid hears about an interesting place called ReKall where they implant memories into people's minds. After getting back to The Colony(Australia), Harry and Quaid are at a bar discussing stuff when Quaid brings up ReKall. Harry's quick to warn him against going there, but Quaid ends up going anyway. After choosing the memory he wants, he suddenly has a gun pointed at his face. The police show up and gun down everybody else, and Quaid appears to surrender when he suddenly eliminates all the cops in the room. Surprised, he goes home and tells his wife what had happened, and before you know it, she's also trying to kill him. Aided by a local rebel, Melina, Quaid sets out to find out who he is and why people are after him.
Any comparisons between this film and the Schwarzenegger film will be talked about later, so I'm just going to judge this film by its own merits. Story-wise, it's still a great story, being based on Philip K. Dick's short story. There are twists and turns in this movie, but some of them are only apparent when you watch the extended cut of the film on Blu-Ray. I'm not going to spoil them for you, but some of them are pretty interesting, if not entirely original. The cast is pretty interesting in this film. Collin Farrell plays Quaid, who appears to be the kind of guy that you end up working with. He does a pretty solid job with what he's given, and he can handle the action with the best of them. Kate Beckinsale is fantastic as Lori. Not only is she beautiful, but Kate's been given a chance to actually play a villain, and she does it with such tenacity, that makes her somewhat scary. Jessica Biel doesn't fare nearly as well as Melina, but she gets the job done. Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame plays the lead villain here, Chancellor Cohaagan, a former military commander who's taken command of Britain.
Action-wise, this is a very solid film. It's got some great fight sequences, and some of the chase sequences are breath-taking. Combine that with the visual aesthetic of the film and we have a pretty decent action movie here. Collin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale do a lot of their own stunts, so it doesn't come across as fake. Kate Beckinsale just excels, mostly because she has experience doing action movies before with the Underworld movies. The rest of the cast is just serviceable. The music just isn't bad, but there's nothing there that really comes across as memorable.
This is a visually striking film. It's very slick. The city designs are incredible as they span hundreds of miles, for both The Colony and UFB(United Federation of Britain). Because of that, the scale of what happens in this movie really opens up. The one unique thing that this film has that the other one didn't is called The Fall. This is essentially an elevator that transports people from The Colony to UFB. It goes right through the center of the earth and it changes gravity half-way through. The action sequences that take place in The Fall, are spectacular.
This is not a bad movie. Not at all. It's actually a good movie. It's got great action, slick visuals and still manages to tell a compelling story that has some decent characters. Taken on it's own, it's a solid sci-fi movie. I give it a 8.5/10.
One of the biggest changes that the new Total Recall makes, is shifting the action from Mars to Earth, and is actually a little more in line with the short story. It still follows the same lines as Schwarzenegger's film, but it does it on a much bigger scale. One other things that you notice, is that the film is a bit more.....sterile. It's not nearly as grimy or dirty as the first movie was, and some people have issues with that. I'll give them that. The new Total Recall, while it is a slick film, lacks the personality that drove the first adaptation. Collin Farrell is good and does what he can with what he's been given, but Schwarzenegger's performance as Douglas Quaid is damn near iconic. Schwarzenegger just has more of a physical presence than Farrell. Bryan Cranston's character of Cohaagan only shows up in commercials in the film until towards the end of the film. Instead of being a corporate bad-guy, Cranston's version of the character is a former military leader who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty.
One of the other things that I noticed about the new film, was it's surprising lack of humor. While the Schwarzenegger film had a pretty dark humor about, with cheesy one-liners and over-the-top violence, the new movie plays it seriously. There are no catchy one-liners or anything that would give you a chuckle. Strangely enough, the new movie does refer to the previous flick a little bit, most notably: The three-breasted hooker. For the most part, this is a stand-alone film. If the Total Recall movies weren't based on the short story, the new film would fare better as a remake than Robocop did. The Robocop remake was underwhelming and just simply didn't live up to its name-sake. Total Recall however, actually manages to be a decent film with a good story, even if the characters aren't as strong as the first film. Like the original Robocop, the original Total Recall still beats the new movie on every single count and then some. But that doesn't mean the new film is completely disposable. I enjoyed it immensely, while I still prefer the original Total Recall.
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