I guess I should start by saying that I have nothing against remakes. Some of my favorite movies are remakes, like Cronenbergs Fly or Carpenter's The Thing. Those two movies show nicely, how you can make a remake of a movie, that didn't quite work, or at least I didn't think neither of the original movies worked, and improve upon the solid ideas the original has. Or if a movie is based on a book, like Lord of the Rings, you can always do a new adaptation, like Bakshi's version VS Jackson's.
Now, Verhoven's Total Recall is a great action sci-fi movie. I count it among the best Arnold Schwarzenegger has starred in as well as one of the best made in the 90's. It's just an overall solid movie with nothing wrong with it. But, as it's based on a book by Philip K. Dick and as such is quite a different from the source, I do understand why someone would want to remake it. I understand it the same way why someone would want to make a new version of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep that is closer to the book than the Scott masterpiece is. So why, I ask, did the makers of this new Total Recall opt to try and remake the Verhoven movie and not try to make a new adaptation of We Can Remember It For You Wholesale that would have been closer to the book?
Total Recall 2012, just like many other modern remakes, don't try to improve something that has previously existed. The makers don't try to remake movies that might have had interesting ideas in them, but fell flat. No. What the makers of remakes like Toral Recall 2012 try to do is to take an existing, well remembered title and make a cash grab product. They aren't interested in making a different take, they are more interested in following the previously placed guide lines. Sure, they might change things a bit, but overall this and Verhoven's Recall follow the same path.
I'd like to add, that Total Recall 2012 isn't utterly horrible movie. But at the same time it lacks a soul. It saddens me, that Hollywood churns out these kinds of remakes, as there's bad movies with interesting ideas in them out there that deserve to be remade.
Now, Verhoven's Total Recall is a great action sci-fi movie. I count it among the best Arnold Schwarzenegger has starred in as well as one of the best made in the 90's. It's just an overall solid movie with nothing wrong with it. But, as it's based on a book by Philip K. Dick and as such is quite a different from the source, I do understand why someone would want to remake it. I understand it the same way why someone would want to make a new version of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep that is closer to the book than the Scott masterpiece is. So why, I ask, did the makers of this new Total Recall opt to try and remake the Verhoven movie and not try to make a new adaptation of We Can Remember It For You Wholesale that would have been closer to the book?
Total Recall 2012, just like many other modern remakes, don't try to improve something that has previously existed. The makers don't try to remake movies that might have had interesting ideas in them, but fell flat. No. What the makers of remakes like Toral Recall 2012 try to do is to take an existing, well remembered title and make a cash grab product. They aren't interested in making a different take, they are more interested in following the previously placed guide lines. Sure, they might change things a bit, but overall this and Verhoven's Recall follow the same path.
I'd like to add, that Total Recall 2012 isn't utterly horrible movie. But at the same time it lacks a soul. It saddens me, that Hollywood churns out these kinds of remakes, as there's bad movies with interesting ideas in them out there that deserve to be remade.