Stars: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel
Studio: Sony Picture
This remake of the 1990 action thriller led by Arnold Schwarzenegger is a beefier version thanks to CGI. The rebooted film tells the same basic story, a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) decides to add some excitement to his pedestrian life by visiting Rekall, a company that provides outer limit vacations. As in, your body is stationary in a generic building while your brain goes on a mind-bender; the company implants faux memories. Quaid’s life is boring, despite the fact that he has a gorgeous wife (Kate Beckinsale), so it’s perfectly understandable that he’d want to indulge in a little fantasy to shake things up a bit. Only things go wrong, of course. But if things didn’t go wrong, moviegoers would be stuck in a horribly boring film for two hours, which, fortunately for the audience, is not the case. Quaid is a wanted man and as the authorities close in, he gets assistance from a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel).
The underutilized Bokeem Woodbine is excellent, but Farrell is far and away a better actor than Schwarzenegger could ever dream of being. And Farrell’s a lot better looking than Der Arnold too, which gives this latest installment a leg up on the 20th century version.
So, is Quaid really wanted or is he experiencing a false memory? You’ll have to see the film to get the answer. –p.d. lee
