Video: "Total Recall" trailer

Is it fair to compare a remake to the original if the remake isn’t really a remake? Like the ’90 version of TR, this is based on a story by Philip K. Dick. According to Wikipedia, the political subtext of this flick is truer to Dick’s work than the Schwarzenegger version was; on the other hand, Colin Farrell insists that it’s not a straight adaptation. Either way, I don’t know what they’re thinking trying to outdo a Paul Verhoeven movie on the same subject. He’s not considered a “great” director but his sci-fi style is so distinct — joyously lurid and hyperviolent, inviting you to gawk like you’re at a freak show — that there’s no way to watch something like this, as impressive as it seems, and not feel like it’s generic. Toss a larger-than-life character like Ahnuld in there for comparison and the new version starts to seem even more watered down. Oh look, another dystopian Blade Runner-ish space adventure whose major plot points we already know or can easily guess. Meh.