A Thesis on the implications of Total Recall and the contrast between the original film [1990] and the remake and/or reimagining [2012] by Sam C Smith.

“They stole his mind, now he wants it back.”

REMINISCENCE:

It is my Star Wars. Yes, I said it. So I did what any fanboy would do: Collect.

Why bother? It’s not as if Total Recall [Original will be referred to as TR, the new film hereby referred to as Total Recall] was the greatest film ever. It doesn’t even feature that highly on the greatest sci-fi film list of all time. But something just stuck with me throughout the 1990s to today that I never got with Star Wars – a film series pretty much filmed and over and done with before I could afford a video player.

But consider how much more difficult it is to get original TR-based collectibles. Especially in the UK. Especially in 2012. Any fan of any age can find something Star Wars based, and that includes error-in-production Kenner figures from the 70s.

Skull-Face Island Movie Podcast presented by Geeks Of Doom
Episode 03: Total Recall / Bourne Legacy

Hello! It’s Adam Frazier aka FamousMonster and welcome to Skull-Face Island! Last week we participated in the 20th Annual Skull-Face Island Olympic Games, where Team USA took the Gold in Ribbon Dancing, Pterodactyl Hang Gliding, and Freestyle Napping. As expected, the natives dominated in Interpretive Animal Sacrifice, Coconut Bowling, and of course, the 100m Velociraptor Dash.

Needless to say, David Allen, Tim Grant, and myself are exhausted. We’ve been replenishing our precious bodily fluids with copious amounts of fruit smoothies and frozen daiquiris thanks to Tim’s capacity for building state-of-the-art blending apparatuses out of scrap metal and tree bark.

If you missed our previous transmissions, let me explain how this works. In the year 1991, US Flight 1313 experienced a mysterious, magnetic anomaly somewhere over the South Pacific. Engines failed, pilots cursed and prayed to their Gods, and three boys (that’s us!) washed ashore on Skull-Face Island, which of course is an ISLAND in the SHAPE of a SKULL! How cool is that!?

Total Recall
Directed by Len Wiseman
Starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho
Columbia Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 118 Minutes
Release Date: August 3rd, 2012

“I don’t wanna spoil it for you, Doug, but rest assured, by the time the trip is over, you get the girl, kill the bad guys, and save the entire planet. Now you tell me… isn’t that worth a measly 300 credits?”

Based on the Philip K. Dick story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, Total Recall was first adapted in 1990 by director Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop), based on a screenplay by Alien scribes Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon.

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Give these people air!”) and Sharon Stone, Verhoeven’s Total Recall is considered an influential, mind-bending sci-fi satire. In Hollywood, if something is “influential” that means there’s still some money to be squeezed out of it, which means it’s ripe for a remake. Enter Len Wiseman, director of the Underworld films and Live Free or Die Hard.

Directed by Wiseman and written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt, and Kurt Wimmer, this “new” Total Recall feels like a combination of I, Robot, Minority Report, Blade Runner, and pretty much every science-fiction film made in the last 20 years. Set in the grim future of 2084, Earth is controlled by The United Federation of Britain, led by Vilos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston). Unlike the original film, which takes place primarily on Mars, Wiseman’s remake replaces the red planet with The Colony, a wretched hive of scum and villainy where all the middle-class, blue-collar folks are forced to live.

The panel for Total Recall, with Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and director Len Wiseman, started the Screen Gems/Sony Panel at San Diego Comic-Con. The remake of the 1990 classic, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, looks to be another summer smash. A new trailer filled with about six minutes of footage showed the unrelenting, action-packed, smash and dash non-stop riveting adventure and vibrant world that the character of Farrell, one Douglas Quaid, gets thrust into by way of Rekall Industries, electrified the crowd in Hall H.

Farrell spoke about filling the large shoes in taking on Arnold’s role; Beckinsale expounded about being tongue in cheek about being incredulous that her husband Wiseman cast her to be a huge “bitch” as she takes on the role originated by Sharon Stone in the original production; Cranston waxed about his character (originated by Ronny Cox in the first film) and working with the film’s principles; Biel spoke about the training process, which involved multitudes of boxing and chicken, and Wiseman talked of making the movie.

Colin Farrell has caught himself in quite a situation. Not only can he not tell what is real and what isn’t but he also has two beautiful women looking for him. One wants to kill him and the other wants to protect him.

A new trailer for Total Recall has appeared online which includes some nods to the Arnold Schwarzenegger-vehicle released in 1990. There’s the familiar circle of light that encompasses the chair, and then there’s the three-breasted woman (which was promised a while back, even with the planned PG-13 rating).

Check out the trailer below.