Total Recall (2012)

Total Recall is a 2012 American science fiction action film directed by Len Wiseman. The screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback was based on the 1990 film of the same name, which was inspired by the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick. The film stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho, and Bill Nighy. It centers upon an ordinary factory worker who accidentally discovers that his current life is a fabrication predicated upon false memories implanted into his brain by the government. Ensuing events leave no room for doubt that his true identity is that of a highly trained secret agent. He then follows a trail of clues to gradually recover more suppressed memories and reassumes his original vocation with renewed dedication. Unlike the first film and the short story, the plot takes place on Earth rather than a trip to Mars and exhibits more political overtones. The film blends American and Asian influences, most notably in the settings and dominant populations of the two nation-states in the story: the United Federation of Britain (Western Europe) and the Colony (Australia).

The film was first announced in 2009 and was released in North America on August 3, 2012, grossing over $198 million worldwide. The film was released to mixed reviews. It received praise in certain areas such as its action sequences but the film's lack of humor, emotional subtlety and character development drew the most criticism.

Synopsis

At the end of the 21st century, Earth is devastated by chemical warfare. What little habitable land remains is divided into two territories, the United Federation of Britain (UFB, located on mainland Europe) and the Colony (Australia). Many residents of the Colony travel to the UFB to work in factories via "the Fall", a gravity elevator running through the Earth's core. A Resistance operating in the UFB seeks to improve life in the Colony, which the UFB views as a terrorist movement.

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