While the new trend of releasing trailers for trailers is incredibly annoying and wholly pointless, commentary on a trailer by the film’s director is actually a quite interesting tool that many would find insightful. Len Wiseman has done just that for the newly released trailer for his Total Recall remake. He goes through the trailer shot-by-shot, adding both character and technical bits along the way. I found it exceptionally fascinating that the “one-shot” action sequence that acts as the cornerstone moment in the trailer was actually done 100% practical. Computer-controlled camera rigs moved at 35mph to capture the action sequence, giving us the “fly-by” feeling that shows us all the angles of the action in one shot.
Paul Verhoeven’s original take on Total Recall was a one-of-a-kind goofy sci-fi film that I highly doubt could be made today. As such, I’m eager to see Wiseman’s straightforward iteration of the material. Hit the jump to watch the trailer with director commentary. The film stars Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale and Bryan Cranston. Total Recall opens on August 3rd.
Trailer via MTV.
Here’s the official synopsis for Total Recall:
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.
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Sold.
Wait, the original Total Recall was goofy? One-of-a-kind, yes. Goofy? Not in the least.
Sorry, but it was on par with other 80′s action flicks, filled with gore and profanity and mild humor when necessary. And wasn’t too bad as far as sci-fi flicks go. I just hope this version is at least as good as Minority Report. Otherwise, it’ll end up in the “failed, and unecessary, remake bin” of Hollywood.
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Wiseman is a terrible hack – all of his movies are glossy, forgettable cash-grabs and that is what this is going to be as well – guaranteed. A shame he had to drag PKD into it.
Sure the original Recall is goofy! The “bug eyes” when Ah-nuld gets exposed to the Martian atmosphere… the three breasted woman… the little weird Yoda-wannabe mutant… all the mutants in general.
While RoboCop was a classic (maybe because Verhoeven was restrained by the budget?) by Recall we’re starting to see him indulge in too much over-the-top stuff. By the time you get to Starship Troopers, Verhoeven basically had become a caricature of himself.
So yeah… there’s plenty of ways to go with this remake that can top 90′s nostalgia. RoboCop, on the other hand… there’s just a lot more ways to mess up the remake than make it as good or better than the original.