A new TV spot for Len Wiseman’s remake of Paul Verhoeven‘s (Robocop) sci-fi action Total Recall (based on Philip K. Dick’s short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale) has found its way online. The 30 second spot has no new footage with the exception of Farrell’s line at the end and is, in fact, just a splicing of the trailer which was released. Wiseman’s take on the 90’s classic (it’s part of my childhood) seems more action packed than the original and his vision of the future far cleaner, in a sense, than the one perceived by Verhoeven. Check out the second TV spot and the official trailer below.
[youtube:http://youtu.be/wvONjj7i5zc%5D[youtube:http://youtu.be/sWMhADqlPYg%5D
It seems the remake will not be visiting Mars but instead focus on the conflict between EuroAmerica and New Shanghai. The choice is not exactly self evident as all the action in the original happened on Mars but keep in mind that this is an “action thriller about reality and memory” so geography (or is that astronomy?), in my opinion, doesn’t matter. It’s all about who you are and who you can trust and in a post-Inception world we expect the answering of these questions to blow our minds.
Here’s the synopsis:
“Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life – real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.”
If you’re still hankering for a bit more Kate Beckinsale showed off a short clip of her kicking Collin Farrell’s ass when she visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It’s about 5 minutes 39 seconds in.
[youtube:http://youtu.be/oR7kVD2C6f4%5D
And here’s the trailer of the original (where they did go to Mars):
[youtube:http://youtu.be/WFMLGEHdIjE%5D
Incidentally, a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop is currently in development at MGM. Gary Oldman has signed on as the scientist that creates Robocop with Joel Kinnaman of TV’s The Killing inheriting the title role from Peter Weller.
Total Recall opens August 3.
Valley of the Deer 