The ABC of Movies…
Reviewed by Mustafa Ali Jafri.
The makers had taken the Cloverfield approach right from the announcement of the project till each of the trailer released, teasing the audience revealing only glimpses of the monster. That strategy paid off big time, as the buzz generated the right momentum, making Godzilla a must watch movie event of the year. After experiencing it, it surely is a movie not to…
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Actors: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranstan, Bill Nighy & John Cho.
Director: Len Wiseman
Genre: Sci-Fi Action | Running Time: 121 mins
Distributor: Sony/Columbia
Distributor in UAE: Empire International
Releasing in UAE: 30-Aug-2012
By the end of 21st century, most of the planet was wiped out by nuclear war, leaving only two territories where humans now exist. The UFB (United Federation of Britian) – ‘Downtown’, a place where all the rich and governing bodies live, leaving the other side of earth to the lower class – the Colony, formerly Australia, and can also pass for being ‘Chinatown’. Workers are transported daily, back and forth, from the Colony to the UFB, through earth’s core, via the only transportation system called “The Fall”.
The movie opens with an intense escape sequence, where Douglas Quaid (Collin Farrell) and Melina (Jessica Beil) are being chased by futuristic police force (robots). The scene ends with Doug waking up from a dream that has been haunting him for some time. He feels clueless about it and the lady he sees. In real life, Quaid lives in the Colony and works at an assembly plant for UFB forces, who is married to Lori (Kate Beckinsale).
Confined in this life he visits Rekall for a memory implant as a secret agent. The procedure doesn’t go as planned, as it conflicts with his true identity, purposely hidden and over written to hide Doug’s past. He escapes from Rekall and manages to reach home where he explains everything to his wife, who in reply attacks and tries to kill him which shocks him even further. The turn of events from then is a struggle for Quaid to find his true identity. In one of the chase that follows, he even meets the girl from his dream, Melina.
Rest of the film is about how he stays alive, stops UFB’s attack on the Colony and finally reuniting with his true love, THE END.
Where the hell was Mars?
If you’ve seen the first Total Recall, this is the first question that pops in your head, as the end credits roll. Even though the makers have tried to incorporate some originality in the screenplay, a trip to Mars with mutated humans, was an integral and the most interesting part of the original film.
Collin Farrell gives a convincing performance however it’s extremely difficult to fit into Arnold’s shoes. Beckinsale, with her body language, seems to still be in her Underworld series mode. She also tries to imitate Angelina Jolie from Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in one of the shot out sequences. Jessica Bale is okay and so is the remaining cast.
Special effects are decent, along with some well choreographed action/chase sequences. Eventually, that’s all there is and after a point the going gets tough and you wait desperately for the film to end.
The scene in which Dough’s friend tries to convince him that these sudden events in his life are just a part of the implant at Rekall and in order to wake up from this, he needs to kill Melina is very well executed.
Len Wiseman, like his earlier work, relies mainly on action, leaving the most integral part aside, the story. As the movie progresses, it turns more into a video game with every level finishing in a nail biting action sequence. Even the feel of this movie takes you back in the era when comparable movies like Demolition Man, Judge Dred, The Fifth Element and even the previous Total Recall were a regular at the box office.
Overall, the first film was a much better product that remains in your memories, even after 22 years, while the new version is very ordinary and leaves you with nothing to recall about except a trip from Chinatown to Downtown.
Review by Mustafa Ali Jafri.
Posted in Movie Reviews
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