Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Movie Review: Total Recall

For the record, I extremely have little knowledge of the original version making me unaware of what to expect with the film. So, if you ask me if they did justice to the story, you're asking the wrong guy. Haha. On it's own merit though, Total Recall was, to say the least, decent.

The premise was intriguing and had the potential to be great, but somehow the film lost the nuances and complexities it initially had as it all seemed to be just one long chase sequence. The story was, at least, cohesive, but that's not really saying much.

Fortunately, the visuals were quite pleasing. I thought the production design was good and quite elaborate, the gadgets looked well-crafted, and the visual effects were stunning. The action sequences were also executed amazingly well especially that brief exciting cat fight between Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale.

Every scene seemed fast paced, but despite the high speed adrenaline and some ridiculous chases, the film strangely felt really slow, and to be honest, seemed to drag. Maybe because it failed to establish a connection to the characters. Personally, the character development was almost nonexistent that I sadly didn't care for most of them. Of course, this was mostly on the writing more than the actors.

Which brings me to the performances. I thought everyone did a decent job. Colin Farrell's performance was solid and he carried the film convincingly. He pulled off the role looking earnest, dangerous and at times quite adorable. Jessica Biel was mostly flat, but I thought she delivered the physical requirement of her role impressively. As for Kate Beckinsale, she just stole the show for me. She seriously kicked some major *ss and I was just in awe watching her do all the stunts while still looking so gorgeous.

Overall, Total Recall was a typical and forgettable piece of entertainment. Not a bad film by any means, but not a great one. If you're looking for a good way to kill a few hours, this will keep you entertained, but don't expect anything more than that. Personally, I don't think I'll remember much of it in about two weeks.

RATING
6/10

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