Hello all, and welcome to my next movie review! 
This time around I saw Total Recall.
Starring: Colin Farrell (Douglas Quaid / Hauser), Kate Beckinsale (Lori Quaid), Jessica Biel (Melina), Bill Nighy (Matthias), Bryan Cranston (Cohaagen)
Plot (taken from Yahoo):
“Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid, even though he’s got a beautiful wife who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of lie as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen, the leader of the free world, Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter to find the head of the underground resistance and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.”
Characters:
Colin Farrell (Douglas Quaid / Hauser) was awesome. He was believable, and I felt sympathetic towards him and wanted to see him find a way out of the mess he was in. As the story moves forward, I love the changes in this character. I also really liked the moment they showed in the preview – where he’s about to be arrested. His expression changes completely, like something just flipped a switch inside him. Very cool.
Kate Beckinsale (Lori Quaid) was seriously bad*ss. I’ve liked her in other movies, playing other kinds of roles, but in my opinion this is my favorite kind of role for her. I love the intensity in this character.
Jessica Biel (Melina) played the perfect counterpart to Douglas and Lori. I really liked this character. She was tough, but relatable, and I was really rooting for her in the end.
Bill Nighy (Matthias) played a great behind the scenes kind of mysterious character.
Bryan Cranston (Cohaagen) played a good villain. This character was more subtle up until the end. He was a bad guy, but I wasn’t as worried about him as I was Lori.
Review:
I really enjoyed this one. I love sci-fi/fantasy in general, but this is an old favorite anyway from when I was a kid, so I have an admitted bias here.
The old movie was fantastic, and I feel like they really stayed true to the original story for the most part. There were even a few instances where they brought out a couple familiar faces. One is easy to spot right away. *cough, cough* The second took me a moment because I haven’t seen the original in years.
The effects were much better, so it was a lot of fun to see everything with an updated look. And although I think they may have left out a certain destination in this one – I need to watch the old one again, lol – the settings were awesome.
The action was also handled really well. It was fast-paced, and just fun to watch in general. I especially like the first couple action scenes, and the car chase you catch a few seconds of in the preview.
There is romance in this story – which always makes me happy. It’s secondary to the action, but still an important aspect of the plot – for more reasons than one. It was more subtle, and surprisingly sweet considering everything that was happening around them.
The plot and characters were both strong, and well thought out. To an extent, it has a feeling similar to Inception as Quaid’s “memories” are put into question. You’re left wondering what’s real and what isn’t. I do like that in the end it was a lot clearer than Inception though.
My rating for Total Recall: Epic – I loved this movie in its original form, and I love it just as much now. Definitely check it out if you like the old Total Recall, futuristic / spy vs. spy kind of movies, or movies such as Unknown, The Bourne Identity, or Inception.
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My rating system:
Epic: This movie is so mind-bogglingly awesome that I may go see it twice. This one will have a place of honor on my shelf.
Cash-Worthy: Good stuff. This will most likely find a place on my shelf.
Meh: Rent it first. You may love it or hate it, but I’m indifferent probably because it’s not my type of movie. I’m glad I saw it, but it won’t end up on my shelf.
Emergency Cake: I have an emotional reaction to movies sometimes, especially to tragedies. If a movie makes me sad or angry, sometimes it will stick with me for a while. At these times, only chocolate cake can save me. Chocolate cake makes everything better. No shelf for you. Ever.
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