‘Total Recall’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes

Len Wiseman remake, starring Colin Farrell, looks like a sleek, modern update of Arnold Schwarzenegger flick.
By Kevin P. Sullivan


Colin Farrell in "Total Recall"
Photo: Sony

If the trailerfor Len Wiseman's remake of "Total Recall" made one thing clear, it's that this is not the "Total Recall" you know. Gone is the camp. Gone is the Martian setting. Gone is the Schwarzenegger.

Instead, the new "Total Recall" is a sleek, visually impressive and modern sci-fi action thriller. Colin Farrell has stepped into the secret-secret-agent boots and the fit seems just right.

Here are our five key scenes from the new "Total Recall" trailer.

Total recall
The trailer begins by giving a good sense of the setup of the story, and once Farrell's character, Douglas Quaid, slips into the Rekal machine, that's when all the trouble starts. Probably one of the strongest visual connections to the Paul Verhoeven-Arnold Schwarzenegger original, the Rekal machine should look vaguely familiar, albeit significantly updated. We do get the added benefit of a bleach-blond John Cho, but from the looks of the trailer, it doesn't seem like he'll be around for very long.

"I know kung fu"
After taking a seat in the Rekal machine, Quaid has his very own Jason Bourne moment. Once the police show up to arrest the very confused customer, his own secret-agent moves come back to him in a flash, and he's able to dispatch all of the would-be arresting officers just as quickly. The camera jumps around with as much ferocity as Quaid, reminding us that Len "Underworld" Wiseman is definitely behind the lens.

Kate Beckinsale: Villainess
And if Len Wiseman is directing, his real-life wife, Kate Beckinsale, can't be too far behind. After Quaid's run-in with the police at the Rekal center, his loving wife, played by Beckinsale, turns out to be not so loving. In fact, she's a deadly assassin set on killing Quaid once his past memories have been unlocked. She's on the tail of Quaid and his new female companion, played by Jessica Biel. Frankly, it's about time we got an evil turn out of Beckinsale.

Anti-gravity gunfight
Perhaps the horn blasts throughout the trailer aren't the only nods to Christopher Nolan's "Inception." During the quick clips of scenes near the end of the trailer, we get a brief look at what appears to be a zero-g gunfight.

Changing faces
The final shot from the trailer is probably the most intriguing. The always fantastic Bryan Cranston, playing the president of Euroamerica, confronts Quaid, who seems more confused than ever. We then see Quaid's face transform from Farrell's to two other actors' and back to Farrell's. Schwarzenegger's version of Quaid did some shape-shifting of his own, but never with this much style.

Check out everything we've got on "Total Recall."

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