Total Recall - Reviews, Grading, and duiscussions, SPOILERS

[Admiral2]

davejames wrote:

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Not sure about the remake, but this article totally makes me want to rewatch the original (hell, just for the actors alone).

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,2048...618075,00.html

This scene is the only reason I need:

[Aldo]

TremblingBluStar wrote:

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According to Box Office Mojo, Total Recall is expected to make 25 to 26 million opening weekend. This is not good news for a movie with a $125 million budget!

I read that Len Wiseman only took the job because he couldn't get any studios to finance an original science fiction idea of his. I guess he'll still be waiting.

[DWF]

I really enjoyed it, I liked the flying car and elevator car chase scenes both were awesome, I didn't mind The Fall the science behind it is iffy but it was still a lot of fun. And I really iked the nods and references and in some cases lines taken directly from the original. I especially liked the new three breasted woman and I liked the big woman in customs, I knew the first words out of mouth would be "two weeks" but I liked the twist in that scene with the hologram.

[The Wormhole]

It was okay. Not what I'd call a masterpiece, but decent entertainment. I've never read the original novel or short story or whatever or even seen the Arnold movie. I actually found myself more interested in the world created than in the psychological shit.

I'm sure I'm probably missing something, but what is the deal with UFB and "the Colony"? We know Earth's atmosphere is unbreathable, given the no-zones, and that these two areas are the only hospitable areas left on Earth. IFB has clear skies, despite the no-zone being constantly cloudy. Is this in a dome of some sort? Or is it underground, which is actually the impression I got about the Colony?

I take it UFB is not the entire UK, since the no-zone is clearly supposed to be in London (the subway station has London Underground signs). I'm guessing the Colony is not all Australia either, since how else could the citizens be able to flee to no-zones?

So at the end the Colony is celebrating about how they're liberated from the UFB. However, were they not as dependant on the UFB as the UFB was on the Colony? EG, the UFB seemed to cover law enforcement and I'm guessing they must have had some sort of resource control to hold over them, otherwise how else did they convince so many to leave the Colony to work in the UFB?

And why was the UFB so damn insistent on conquering the Colony anyway, other than because they're the villains?

I found it odd that a movie set partly in Britain casts so many British actors only to have them speak with American accents. I get they're trying to represent many cultures living in this area. But it just seemed odd to me At least with Kate Beckinsale they got clever and had her switch accents.

Did anyone else find Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel look similar? I never thought so before, but I was actually confusing the two of them throughout this movie.

I liked the Fall. I don't care if it's bad science, it is a cool idea.

Finally, what the hell is with all the lens flares? I felt like I was watching Trek XI.

[Trekker4747]

davejames wrote:

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Not sure about the remake, but this article totally makes me want to rewatch the original (hell, just for the actors alone).

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,2048...618075,00.html

Great article. (I just watched the original the other night too.)

[Trekker4747]

The Wormhole wrote:

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Did anyone else find Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel look similar? I never thought so before, but I was actually confusing the two of them throughout this movie.

Looking at them separately no, I don't think they look similar. But in this movie the makeup, hair and costuming DID make them look pretty similar. Though Biel's face more constantly had a "taking a dump and pissed about it" look where Beckinsale was doing her usual "breathy sex kitten" look.

I liked the Fall. I don't care if it's bad science, it is a cool idea.

Well, it's hard for me to see something as a "cool idea" when the idea is completely ludicrous and could never work.

Finally, what the hell is with all the lens flares? I felt like I was watching Trek XI.

Yeah, that's something I noticed too and forgot to mention in my review. Way too many damn lens flares and use of light in this movie. Much of the tension in the scene where his friend tried to talk him "out of the dream" was undercut by all of the freaking light shining in through the windows flaring on the damn camera!

[Dream]

The Wormhole wrote:

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I've never read the original novel or short story or whatever or even seen the Arnold movie.

Get your ass to Mars!

I mean... see the original Arnold movie already. It's a classic for a reason.

[DWF]

I'd hardly call the original movie a classic, but it is worth seeing.

[Trekker4747]

DWF wrote:

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I'd hardly call the original movie a classic, but it is worth seeing.

Mmmmm. I might say it's "classic" only so far as 80s/90s action movie cheese goes. It's not a classic in the same vain as, say, Casablanca and it's not an "untouchable classic" that shouldn't have been remade. But it's certainly a movie that's very much a symbol of times it was made in.

[Captain Craig]

DWF wrote:

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I'd hardly call the original movie a classic, but it is worth seeing.

Cult classic if it's one at all.

[Dream]

Captain Craig wrote:

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Cult classic if it's one at all.

The original Total Recall was too popular to be a cult movie. It was one of Arnold's biggest hits. Only Terminator sequels and True Lies have made more money out of all Arnie's movies.

[Ian Keldon]

Agreed. TR (the original) is a classic sci-fi movie.

The one thing I never got was the "is it real or Rekall" question. It's obvious from the structure of the film (first one) that the events are real as there are scenes that take place outside Quaid's perception.

[Tosk]

Ian Keldon wrote:

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Agreed. TR (the original) is a classic sci-fi movie.

The one thing I never got was the "is it real or Rekall" question. It's obvious from the structure of the film (first one) that the events are real as there are scenes that take place outside Quaid's perception.

That, plus Quaid dreams of Melina before going to Rekall. But that doesn't take away from the delicious "What If?"-ness of it all.

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Well, I sometimes have elaborate, story-like dreams with scenes that take place out of my perception. Sometimes, I'm not even a character in my dreams at all.

[DarthTom]

Admiral2 wrote:

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-I'm calling bullshit on "The Fall." (Ooh, ahh, "The Fall enslaves us!" ) Unless the atmosphere is too thin to support aircraft and the oceans are filled with sulfuric acid there's no way in hell "The Fall" is "the only way" to get from one part of this world to the other, especially when you consider digging a tunnel through the Earth big enough to sink a subway car the size of the Citibank building into it could not possibly be cheaper and easier than just designing and building more robust ships and planes. "But A2," you say - come on, I know you're saying it - "all science fiction has some BS in it." True, but you're not supposed erect a metaphorical neon sign pointing to it that says "This is Utter Bullshit! We only did it 'cause we thought it looked cool!"

And if you do, it should actually look cool, not just stupid.

Me a B- for the reason you list above. The whole concept of the "Fall," was terrible and even as a sci-fi fan who can easily suspend my disbelief in such things this was a terrible plot device.

I'd be curious to what British and Australian viewers thought of the film. The whole concept of "sticking to to the Brits" in the film the "British Federation," was absurd and a play on Australian nationality.