Sometimes a remake makes sense because the technology has changed that dramatically or the sensibilities no longer match up with what is presented on screen (e.g. many movies of the 20s/30s may present black stereotypes average viewers won't be able to judge within the context of the time.... or the change from black'n'white to Technicolor)
Hasn't really happened here. They'd have been better off titling it something related to the original Phillip K Dick novel source (
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale) - call it a new interpretation of that. Calling it "Total Recall" is just some backhanded "yeah, it'll be like Arnold and Mars and stuff... but doesn't have any of that,yeah" o.O
The original Phillip K Dick plotline is already pretty amazing without embellishment:
Spoiler for Plot Summary of PKD's "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale":
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Originally Posted by from wiki
Douglas Quail, a simple and ordinary man, wishes to visit Mars. Unable to afford it, he visits a company, Rekal, Incorporated, that offers implanted memories ("extra-factual memory"). The attempt to implant some exciting Mars memories of Quail as a secret agent reveals that Quail actually is an undercover government assassin with a mind full of dangerous secrets. The Rekal staff quickly get Quail out of their office; he heads home and finds certain physical evidence to support his new old memories. His handlers initially seek his death but instead Quail, being an assassin, avoids this and goes on the run. Unfortunately, he has an implanted device which can be used to read his thoughts. He therefore makes a deal in which the memory of his Mars mission is replaced by a false memory of his deepest desire as analyzed by psychiatrists - that he saved the world from a Martian invasion at the age of 9. The Rekal staff begin the memory-implanting procedure, and run into the same problem as they did earlier - the incredible memories they are about to insert are already there and real. |