A TOTAL RECALL Remake Isn’t That Bad An idea. Seriously.

The marketing of Total Recall is starting to ramp up as it approaches its August 3 release date. The first poster has been released and a trailer is on the way for the film which has come under a lot of fire for two reasons:

1) It’s a remake of a popular Paul Verhoeven film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
2) It’s directed by Len Wiseman
I think the original is a great film, but I’m cool with the remake, because…

It stars Colin Farrell. Farrell almost hit the big-time a decade ago with the release of the Joel Schumacher films Tigerland and Phone Booth, as well as a co-starring role in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report (which also stems from the pen of Recall’s Philip K. Dick). Farrell’s career hit a nadir following Oliver Stone’s ill-fated (and underrated) Alexander, and since then he’s been re-establishing himself as an actor (rather than a movie star). Last year he took his first tentative steps back towards stardom by taking roles in Horrible Bosses and Fright Night, but Total Recall is his first headlining gig in a mainstream film in quite some time. He’s a great actor, with charisma to burn, and even if the film itself is terrible, his performance should elevate it into the realm of watchable.

Also, I don’t hate Len Wiseman. The director’s Live Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4.0) wasn’t terrible, in fact I feel it was a lot better than John McTiernan’s Die Hard With A Vengeance. That’s usually taken as sacrilege, but it’s my opinion. As for the Underworld movies – I don’t have any time for them, but hey nobody’s perfect.

Sure, the Verhoeven/ Schwarzenegger film is a science fiction classic, with the Austrian star in his prime but I think that we all know that nothing is safe from the remake treatment and we should thank the movie gods that Total Recall was top-lined by Colin Farrell and not somebody like, say Ashton Kutcher.

Do I expect Total Recall 2012 to be as good as the 1990 original? Of course not, but it might just be fun.