TOTAL RECALL, a modern-day adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story WE WILL REMEMBER IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, is the second filmed version of the material following on from the 1990 Schwarzenegger movie. Unfortunately, it pales in comparison to that movie in every respect. In essence, this film can be summed up as follows: action/CGI/CGI/CGI/action/action/CGI/CGI, repeated ad infinitum.

It turns out to be a soulless and hollow viewing experience, one which lacks depth and the kind of drive to make it an exciting production. Instead it plays out superficially, never deeper than the level of a comic strip, refusing characterisation at all times. Unforgivably, it also excises all of the good stuff from the Arnie movie: the humour, the satire, the background, the sci-fi elements, the violence, and the effects.

What we're left with is one long chase movie, augmented by endless CGI effects which lose their impressiveness about five minutes in. TOTAL RECALL is a movie which makes the classic Hollywood mistake of imagining that bigger effects = better action (think of TRANSFORMERS, 2012),whereas those filmmakers who realise that greater intensity = better action (THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, THE RAID) do far better. Colin Farrell is humourless in an uninteresting lead role, while Kate Beckinsale gives an embarrassingly wooden performance. Other actors, like Bryan Cranston and Bill Nighy, are given so little screen time that they barely register. In fact, the only parts of this I really enjoyed were the in-jokes referencing the earlier classic movie.

Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) lives in the crowded colonial Australia with his wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale). He travels to his factory work in Britain thru The Fall, an elevator through the center of the earth. He builds security robots with his friend Harry. He goes to Rekall to implant a created memory as a vacation. All hell breaks loose. Melina (Jessica Biel) is a resistance fighter.

The 1990 original has Arnold Schwarzenegger in campy iconic fun sci-fi action movie. In this one, director Len Wiseman drops any sense of camp or light fun. Arnie's light humor is missed. There is some good action but no chemistry between anybody. The movie doesn't stop for a moment to take a breath. It's either action, action, action, or explain, explain, explain. The ending runs on, and on, and on. Basically it takes too long to finish.

Now we come to The Fall. It's a visually interesting idea, but it makes no real-world sense. It looks good. It has good visuals, but IT MAKES NO SENSE. If The Fall delivers you to another planet, that would be better as a sci-fi concept.

I have watched the excellent Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall" at least ten times in the movie theater, on VHS, on cable television and on DVD. For me, this movie is one of the best sci-fi films ever, with non-stop action. The story has many twists, and the screenplay has no flaws, being very attractive. This was the first movie that the beauty of the unknown Sharon Stone (in 1990) called my attention. Arnold Schwarzenegger is great performing a dubious hero, and Michael Ironside is the perfect villain.

I hate remakes and I was reluctant to see the remake of "Total Recall". However, my wife convinced me to give a chance to this movie on DVD. The story is awful, without Mars, without the mutants and without the direction of Paul Verhoeven. The forgettable screenplay uses the visual concept of "Blade Runner"; the floating cars of "The Fifth Element"; and the army of "Star Wars" entwined with a poor recollection of the original "Total Recall"; lots of explosions; and the hot Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel to compensate the weakness of the plot. Colin Farrell is not even a shadow of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The result is an outrageous recall, and never a "Total Recall" of a classic. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "O Vingador do Futuro" ("The Avenger of the Future")