Film Club recalls Total Recall
In a week of some pretty big guns, our Film Clubbers picked Total Recall as their movie of choice. But was it all they expected and more?
Spoilers ahead!
MAXWELL ‘It’s impossible to watch the film whilst trying to put the original out of my head. Despite there being so many nods and winks to Paul Verhoeven’s version (three boobs), as well as similar scenes and dialogue, this film will struggle to hold its own.’
‘Some of the action was really good but it became very repetitive and stale…one shoot ‘em up scene after another.’
‘At times it was just like a scene-by-scene remake that was derailed in the final half. They should have just got their arses to Mars!’
‘Farrell and Beckinsale were very good and kept the film moving along nicely but Biel, Cranston and Nighy were left firmly in the shadows and hardly made an impression.’
ZARINA ‘I thought the film was just okay…a bit dull and serious. I’ve heard the original was more fun but I can’t recall having seen it.’
‘Colin was OK but meh, the girls were not developed much as characters.’
‘The film’s major redeeming quality to me was the special effects. I loved them!’
IVAI ‘I recall that there were a lot of chase scenes but not much depth to the story. Comparing it to the Arnie one, it’s very different and a lot less fun.’
‘The cast are good but I didn’t feel attached to any of them. As the others are saying, it’s a very predictable yarn. Give us Arnie’s visit to Mars any day!’
‘Remakes for the most part fail to perform as they’re just retreading old ground that worked in the first place. If they remade something that was pants originally, that’d be a bit more interesting.’
‘Biel and Beckinsale were decent but to me, they could have been the same person. Their characters had no depth or personality. Colin Farrell is a good actor and does action well but what about that accent?! Irish slipping in there every now and again!’
MAXINE ‘I can’t remember much about the first one so I can’t really compare it, but I really enjoyed this.’
‘I thought Colin Farrell’s acting was really good, he could definitely cut it as an action actor. The fight scenes were really good.’
SCOTT ‘Unfortunately for me, I thought it was the worst film I have seen this year. The first 20 minutes were OK, but the final half was so stupid and all over the place I started to get really annoyed.’
‘The constant nods to the original were nice, but it had none of the appeal of the original and took itself WAY too seriously!’
‘The original is a 5 star film all day long. Detaching this from it makes it feel a little better, but it is still a no-brainer that makes little sense. Many times during the final half I found myself rolling my eyes in disbelief.’
‘I have never really understood Colin Farrell’s appeal. He is OK in films where his sense of humour comes through, but this was too straight for him.’
‘It was all good on the CGI front. Not that I am a fan, give me prosthetics and puppets any day.’
CHRIS ‘I don’t consider Total Recall a remake, more a stand alone scifi film based on the same story as an earlier film.’
‘Colin Farrell makes a great action hero, he plays the everyman thrust into the unknown very well and the 2 leading ladies, Beckinsale and Biel, do an excellent job too.’
‘I found the special effects fantastic, especially the Blade Runner’esque rainy cityscapes. I may have actually enjoyed it more than Verhoevens bloody but ultimately silly version – 3/5.’
GINA ‘I haven’t seen the first one, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to (maybe that’s a good thing as from the sound of it some people thought it fell short in relation to the first one). But I rather enjoyed it!’
‘I think Colin Farrell did an excellent job, action-type roles suit him.’
‘The girls were great! I’m definitely a fan of Kate Beckinsale.’
MIKE ‘It took itself way too seriously, yet made whimsy references to the original film, so tonally it seemed confused.’
‘Acting wise, Farrell, Beckinsale and Beil did OK, but were nothing special. They seemed to be there for eye candy rather than for a meaty role.’
‘Overall, it is – at the most basic of levels – an entertaining film, but nothing more. It’s a throwaway popcorn movie that over-explains rather than forcing the audience to engage their brains, which is a shame.’
If we could pick one word to describe this movie it would be daft. With a capital D-A-F-T.
Most of the movie involves fistfights and people going up and down in elevators. Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel beat each other up several times, so there’s plenty of gratuitous lady-fighting for those who are into that sort of thing.
Even more ridonk, Beckinsale’s character believes she’d never end up with someone like Colin Farrell. Not that she’s not hot, but seriously…has she seen him?
Plot-wise this is actually pretty different from the 1990 version, though there are more than enough nods to Paul Verhoeven’s vision to class it as a bona-fide remake. The biggest and most glaringly hideous omission is the lack of Mars, with that whole plotline discarded in favour of some ‘Britain versus the Colony’ nonsense and a serious political agenda. Also, all the soldiers look like rejected concept art from Star Wars.
Colin Farrell is a serviceable enough action hero, but we generally prefer it when he does the funny thing instead. He did apparently do a particularly intense fight scene without the aid of a stuntman though, so we’ll give him props for that one.
His lady-friends don’t fare much better, although that’s largely due to the fact their characters are firmly in the vein of ‘hot female sidekick’ and ‘even hotter female baddie.’ Excuse us a second while we yawn…
They should have gone to Mars.
But just what is this Film Club malarkey all about? It’s simples, really. Each week we send a pair of cinema tix (ODEON or Cineworld, whichever is best) to 10 of our most active Facebook/Twitter followers. We put the film we’re going to see to the vote, and the winning film is the one we all go to see. Then we all sit around on Facebook on the Sunday night (6.30) and chat about it. Magic. Sound like something you want to get involved with? Drop us a line at twitter.com/f_t_r_c or on Facebook at on.fb.me/d4dMv8
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