The problem with making a remake is that it will always be judged against the original. For Total Recall, that might not be a bad thing.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was last running around Mars doing crazy things, the year was 1990. Movies were simple, they were campy and they were fun.
Now, the bar has been raised exponentially. Every single decision made in making a movie is scrutinized, every Twitter user is a critic with a megaphone and everything is picked to bits instantaneously.
That’s the environment that the 2012 version of Total Recall finds itself in, with a star-studded cast and a big budget in tow. While Colin Farrell is no Ah-nold, that’s hardly a bad thing. The rest of the movie, however, has plenty of question marks.
Total Recall
This movie looks like it should be a hit. Solid actors, shiny buildings and enough fast-paced action to make Michael Bay proud. What it all hinges on, however, is going to be the plot. Will it make sense? Will the twists and turns be interesting or ridiculous? Will it hold up in the end.
This is being marketed more or less as Inception with flying cars… that’s a more difficult target to hit than the standard Arnold set 22 years ago.
Man of Steel
Not really showing us much here… Is the idea of Superman just supposed to get us excited?
The last attempt at rebooting the franchise didn’t go so well, and a slow voiceover with Christopher Nolan‘s name thrown in isn’t going to convince me anything’s changed. Unless this guy is involved in making the thing, I don’t have much of an interest in Clark Kent’s adventures, to be honest.
Cloud Atlas
Um, yeah. Your guess is as good as mine here. This trailer is extra long and I still have no idea what to make of it. It looks to me like The Notebook had a baby with 2001: A Space Odyssey, and that baby went on a bad acid trip. Tom Hanks looks cool running around in medieval times, though.
Celeste and Jesse Forever
OK, I get it, Andy Samberg is sensitive. That’s not going to change the fact that he also is responsible for creating the most ridiculous and stupid video in the history of the Internet (and I mean that as a compliment). But yes, go and make smart, critically-acclaimed romcoms, Andy. We’ll always have Awesometown.
Thumbnail photo via Facebook/Total Recall
