Total Recall (2012) (Unrated)

Differences between the Director's Cut and the Theatrical Cut
I'm primarily interested in the storyline differences between the Director's Cut and its theatrical counterparts, so here are the differences between the two (NOTE: SPOILERS FOLLOW).

The Director's Cut runs about 12 minutes longer than the theatrical cut. No additional gore has been added although additional F-bombs have been added. Ethan Hawke makes a surprise appearance in a scene that was cut from the theatrical movie.

(1) Extra scene of Quaid meeting with a Human Resources Management representative from the Cohaagen administration who requests that he sign a non-disclosure agreement given that he works at a sensitive defense production factory. (I can see why this was cut as it didn't add much to the overall storyline.)

(2) Extra scene of scantily clad women in Rekall neighborhood. (The three mammary gland-ed lady still makes the same appearance with topless nudity.)

(3) In the scene where Quaid finds the hidden holographic piano...

Different Enough From the Original To Make It Entertaining
I just got back from the Midnight showing of this movie and I have to say that I was actually quite impressed with the storyline as it differed just enough from the original to make the film very entertaining, yet didn't seem to be a complete re-hash of the original Total Recall starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of course the special effects were much better than the original film, but I have to admit that Arnold has such a presence that it makes it very hard to compete against him. Especially when you are playing the part he played so well in the original. However, Colin Farrel does do a good job playing the role of Douglas Quaid, or is it Hauser. I'm not really sure and that is the point of the movie. The cast is rounded out with Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad: The Complete First Season fame reprising the role originally played by veteran...

KILL HIM ON SIGHT!
I kept thinking about the original film while watching this one. To put it simply: Arnold was better than Colin Farrell. Kate Beckinsale in the expanded role is better than Sharon Stone, and I really love them both. Jessica Biel is better than anyone, if you don't believe me, ask her. What I really liked about this film is the updated special effects, down to the electronic notes on the refrigerator door. I love attention to detail.

The action was fast paced. The future looks similar to "The Fifth Element" but with more computer gizmos. If you have seen the original version, then you can miss the first few minutes of this one and be able to pick it up.

For some reason they eliminated all the fun aspects of going to Mars. That is why we watched the first film. Instead we get a film where we simply root for the terrorists. The terrorists are revolting against the Chancellor who wants to replace workers with synthetics, although this theme was poorly developed...

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