Total Recall

Set in 2084 on a grim Earth rendered almost uninhabitable by chemical warfare, this tedious remake stars Colin Farrell as assembly-line worker Douglas Quaid, who is determined—despite the protestations of his beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale)—to spike his humdrum life by visiting Rekall, a company that converts fantasies into seemingly real fake memories through chemical implants. Once Quaid is injected, however, robotic soldiers burst into the room, forcing him to flee, after which he spends the rest of the chaotic plot on the run with a mysterious woman named Melina (Jessica Biel), while trying to figure out if he really is the superspy of his fantasies or if the entire scenario is just a mind-warp in a parallel universe. Total Recall serves up endless chase scenes through the Fall—a commuters' chute dug through the planet's core that connects the workers' rain-soaked island Colony (Australia) with the ruling settlement in the United Federation of Great Britain. Adapted from the same Philip K. Dick short story that inspired Paul Verhoeven's 1990 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, director Len Wiseman (who is married to Beckinsale) completely dispenses with the intriguing Mars locale and its curiously mutated inhabitants (not to mention any sense of humor). Bewildered Farrell, brutish Beckinsale, and beguiling Biel wind up being shallow character prototypes, as are a pair of adversarial political leaders (Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy). A disappointing, pointless reboot, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an "Insight" mode with behind-the-scenes commentary by director Len Wiseman, a "Science Fiction vs. Science Fact" featurette (10 min.), a gag reel (8 min.), a "Designing the Fall" behind-the-scenes segment (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an extended cut with audio commentary by Wiseman, a "Stepping into Recall" section of pre-visualization sequences (26 min.), a "Total Action" section of sequences broken down (20 min.), and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing remake.] (S. Granger)