A fast-paced sci-fi thriller, Total Recall (2012) puts the audience into a dystopian world where two rival groups pull the strings, creating a compelling atmosphere that reinforces the themes about identity, deception and struggle brought out in the movie. The mood of the film is tight and physical, nailing down the anarchy of a future in which nothing is real anymore. It looks great to the eye futuristic cityscapes, cool technology, and lots of fight scenes make it an adrenaline-infested film that makes you sit at the edge of your seat.
The acting is also very strong, most notably Colin Farrell as Quaid who is stuck in a tangle of fake memories and allegiances. His rise as an angst-filled factory labourer turned rebel agent is captivating as well as emotionally affecting. The cast of Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel are the supporting characters, and they also are aggressive and dimensional, and this provides intrigue and suspense to their characters. Len Wiseman as the director avoids eliciting the feeling of being shipwrecked by maintaining the story-line at a rapid pace with twists on the plot in a non-brain-bending but instead explosive set pieces that does not lose the emotional weight of the story.
One thing that impressed me in the movie is the study of identity and reality in the film- how memories form our identity and how fragile we and our memories are. The unpredictable levels of truth left me with a combination of confusion and fascination, when I started thinking about the nature of perception and the freedom of choice. Although the plot may seem convoluted to some, the energy and some of the ideas mean that the film never fails to make a lasting impression. Total Recall (2012) is essentially a roller-coaster ride that quits wondering what is and what is not, and in that process provides a riveting adrenalin-squeezing experience in the theatre.
