I got a freebie from Redbox so decided to rent "Total Recall" the 2012 version on Bluray. Turq already reviewed this film when it was out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/317477
I agree this film was a total mess. I avoided it at the theater because it wasn't getting good reviews. In fact the film which IS non-stop action is plain hard to follow. There is apparently a "director's cut" which wasn't on the disc though Sony does not seem to make Rental versions and they had a extra that has "behind the scenes" boxes shown over the movie as it plays again. One reviewer on IMDB having seen the directors cut says the film makes more sense that way. But I may never know. That's because I found more than that wrong with it. I liked the opening which had a bit of nod to the style of the early 1950s version of "1984". But that didn't last. We now know that our resources are limited. So I would think that such grandiose architecture and overuse of technology would not exist at that time in the future. I don't think a factory worker would have had as luxurious an apartment as the Colin Farrell character had. It should have resembled something like what Bruce Willis had in "The Fifth Element". Nowadays they're even trying to push 200 square foot apartments which are not bad for a single person as I lived in such as studio apartment in the late 1970s. The CG folks got a little overly enthusiastic I guess. Sets? These days its green screen as it much of it is in the film. Also A-List actors take you out of the movie. This is a story better told with lesser knowns. When big studios want to bank on a film they contract A-List actors to get people to the theaters and tone down the film to PG-13 (apparently a three boob chick doesn't count). I'm going to dig out the short story and read it again. I read many of Dick's short stories and novels back in the day. It would be interesting to see his last novel as a film but I bet the studios won't touch it. To cleanse the palette I followed up with Julie Delpy's comedy "2 Days in New York" with Chris Rock. It's a funny story about a couple when the wife's family comes to visit from France. It's available on Netflix WI. http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/2_Days_in_New_York/70227643
