I'm a critic when it comes to Hollywood remakes. Generally I'm not in favor of them. Why should I watch a movie that was already made back in 1990 when I can just go to my DVD library and put in that one? It shows a great lack of genuine inspiration. So, I have no problem calling it what this is: a nostalgic cash-in movie. With that being said, how was it?
Overall, I would say it's okay. It's nothing special. If you're looking for a generic action movie with very little in terms of plot, then this is your movie. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the pretty CG. That's all I really have to say about this movie as a stand alone movie. The action is good and the CG is really good. And just as a note to George Lucas: This movie knows how to create a droid army.
Getting in to the plot is where this movie takes a few steps away from good and into the lame. And the best way for me to explain that is to compare it to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from 1990. Because when I say the new version is "smaller" I want you to know what I mean. The newer version keeps many of the same elements from the older one but does so in a smaller fashion. Let me explain.
In the older movie much of what happens takes place on Mars. Mars is a colony to Earth where people live inside a giant domed city. All around the dome the people can only see a red sky and dust storms as far as the eye can see. It gives it a sense of being trapped. This movie the colony is Australia. Just one big city. No walls. No ceiling. Supposedly the outer surroundings are all poisoned by some kind of genetic war that happened in the past. But there isn't any sense of isolation. It just looks like a giant city.
Also in the older movie there's a real sense of ambiguity. We never really know if Arnold is really having this adventure or not. With Colin Farrell, we're painfully aware. Also, and I won't say this often, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a far better choice for the lead role. Who would you believe is the bad ass secret agent who could easily kill 10 trained soldiers without breaking a sweat? Someone who looks like Arnold or Colin Farrell?
The lack of ambiguity is actually a major factor in most of the character development. In the older version, since we don't know for sure if this is real or not, it's okay to have a cliche, generic bad guy villian. It plays into the story that this might not be real. It's okay to have the moustache twirling villian tying girls to railroad tracks in that case. Because it could all be a fantasy. Here, the villian lacks any kind of coherent motivation. He orchestrates terrorist attacks so he can blame the colony. Therefore he would be justified in sending a droid invasion army to kill the whole colony and repopulate it. And to this I say... Why? It's an awful lot of trouble for something very simple. By definition a colony is not a free country. Just make something up and turn it into a police state. It pretty much is one already.
In the older movie, keeping the colonists in line was much easier and more logical. If they went outside, they'd die. The rebels wanted to restore Mars to a habitable planet so they would no longer be dependant on the Earth for supplies. In the newer movie, it's a land grab. Which do you think makes for a better movie? Enslaved people on a desolate planet totally reliant on unfair trade with a healthy planet or the main city is running out of space so the leader wants to do some elaborate scheme involving population control and droid workers.
There's just too much action in the newer movie. It waters down the plot so we can have more car chases and gunfights. If that's the kind of movie you want, there it is. But the 1990 version is much more of a challenging film which is what sci-fi is supposed to be. It actually delves into the idea of what is fantasy and what is reality. This one just mentions it and then forgets it as if it's ashamed to even try and be an intelligent movie. It provides just enough fan service to those that saw the original film but doesn't have nearly the depth. It has the three-boobed prostitute but doesn't develop her. She was a minor character in the other movie as well, but she was a symbol of the genetic mutations that were a real threat on Mars. Here, she's just a novelty. "Hey look. There's a three-boobed prostitute. Cool." No, it's not cool. I'm not impressed by fan service.
Please watch the 1990 Total Recall. It has plenty of gun fights in it for the action fans and it's a much smarter movie for the more discerning movie goer.
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