ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Michael Ledo I kept thinking about the original film while watching this one. To put it simply: Arnold was better than Colin Farrell. Kate Beckinsale in the expanded role is better than Sharon Stone, and I really love them both. Jessica Biel is better than anyone, if you don't believe me, ask her. What I really liked about this film is the updated special effects, down to the electronic notes on the refrigerator door. I love attention to detail.The action was fast paced. The future looks similar to "The Fifth Element" but with more computer gizmos. If you have seen the original version, then you can miss the first few minutes of this one and be able to pick it up.For some reason they eliminated all the fun aspects of going to Mars. That is why we watched the first film. Instead we get a film where we simply root for the terrorists. The terrorists are revolting against the Chancellor who wants to replace workers with synthetics, although this theme was poorly developed.One of the aspects of both productions that I didn't like was the initial dream sequence. Had they eliminated that from both films, then the genius of the script would have been the ambiguity of reality vs. the recall machine.The film included 3D holograms, Star Wars stormtroopers, Bill Nighy for a brief moment, and an inadvertent mention of an old film "Hauser's Memory."What I didn't like about this film was all the action. It didn't have drama scenes outside of the beginning. No colorful characters. No time for a Biel/ Farrell love scene. It was like watching someone play a video game. Seriously, where was the writing? The clever lines? The complex character? The relationship? Any moron can write "Bang bang, run shoot, bang, chase, shoot, bang."Parental Guide: F-Bomb, Nudity (Kaitlyn Leeb wearing a fake chest) no sex. 3 stars is pushing it. Can't wait for the video game.

Tweekums Set in a world where much of the Earth has been contaminated only two areas remain inhabitable; United Federation of Britain (Great Britain and Western Europe) and The Colony (Australia). These are linked by The Fall, a giant gravity elevator that passes through the Earth's core, which enables workers to travel from the Colony to the UFB to work. There are political troubles with groups in the colony fighting for better conditions.One such colonial worker is Douglas Quaid, he is married to a member of the UFB security forces and has recurrent dreams about being a secret agent. After some time he goes to Rekall, a company that gives you memories of an amazing adventure without actually having that adventure... Quaid opts for the Secret Agent Package. Immediately it seems as if something is very wrong as police storm the building and Quaid easily dispatches them. He flees and gets home, where his wife tells him his whole life was a lie before trying to kill him. He manages to escape again and is rescued by Melina, the woman from his dreams. Following leads he learns more about who he is, Quaid and Melina set out to find resistance leader Matthias.Having really enjoyed the original 'Total Recall' I was a little wary about this version... a major concern being that the first was a violent 18 certificate film but this was a teen friendly 12. As it turned out this was still quite violent and possibly includes more action... this action rarely stops once the story gets going. This means it is easy to overlook flaws as we are quickly onto the next action set-piece. The story isn't too complicated although there are some decent twists, if you haven't seen the original of course. The best thing about this version is that it doesn't slavishly copy the original; there are however some nice nods to it. Colin Farrell impresses as Quaid... he may not be as physically imposing as Arnie but is more believable as a secret agent for that very reason. The rest of the cast are solid enough although Bryan Cranston was somewhat underused as Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen, the oppressive leader of the UFB. Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel a good as Quaid's wife and Melina respectively. The special effects were really impressive; they created a believable dystopian world with some amazing technology. Overall I'd say this was much better than I expected although if I were to recommend just one version of 'Total Recall' it would be the original... perhaps for nostalgic reasons as much as anything else.

nottoman Well....will all the crybabies please go home! So many ridiculous rants about this movie being different than the original. Shut the H**l up. It's a new film for a new audience. I never saw the original and I really enjoyed this movie. Great action, lots of sci-fi built in, and enough intrigue to make you want to rewind and look at it again. The leads are awesome and do a great job. Good Blade Runner vibe. I saw it twice about a year apart and I'm ready to see it again - and I consider myself picky about movies. Again - don't let the naysayers with all the exaggeration fool you (worst movie ever!!!), I think you'll enjoy this if you like the trailer.

Benjamin Black I have never seen the original, and so I did't go into this movie with any feelings of what it should be. And I'll admit that a lot of the characters seem a little artificial, and the development is not all that great. And since I am not really a huge fan of the action genre, this could have put me off. But the pacing was perfect, and the graphics were something else entirely. It really is a perfect action movie. I mean, the scenes involving multi-tier cities, and falling through the earth blew my mind. The robots were awesome.