A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
Even with low expectations, you’ll find this a wretched experience.
The end result is serviceably slick but soulless, alternating between hyperactivity – repetitive martial arts and endless hovercar chases – and a dutiful narrative plod. Total Recall? There’s no reason to remember this.
Perhaps no more absurd than the Verhoeven version, but certainly less amusing. Farrell and Beckinsale emerge unscathed, but the endless scrabbling for novelty and reinvention leaves this feeling unaccountably stale and familiar.
Wiseman seems unwilling to admit defeat, piling on multiple action climaxes, each more deadening than the last.
Even a late-21st century memory technician with a direct line to the cerebral cortex would struggle to make many thoughts of this one stick.
Dumed-down remake.
Wiseman has a few cool gizmos to show off, but while his futuristic world is glitzier and more rounded than Verhoeven's, his film lacks heart and humour.
Dick's dark visions of corporate treachery, depersonalisation and control have gone though the script mincer and emerged in a flavourless puree of fights and chases. It's frenetic but dull, non-stop but non-exciting.
So much talent in the service of such a forgettable film.
It’s not a total flop. The visuals are top-notch and some of the action scenes stand out, including a chase with flying cars. There’s just no pressing reason for its existence.
It's a bit of a flavourless CGI-fest, without the character and comedy of the Arnie version, and it never really gets to grips with the idea of "reality" as a slippery, malleable concept.
If they’d delivered better acting from a better cast with a more thoughtful plot then this would probably be a very good film, but if you’re a teen geek male in reality or in spirit, you’ll be in celluloid heaven.
Wiseman's film is (after 20 minutes of scene-setting) one long, repetitive chase with occasional pit stops. The special effects are unremarkable too, and lack the impact of the Verhoeven film.
How to solve a problem like Arnie
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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