Total Recall

Total Recall is a 2012 American dystopian science-fiction action film directed by Len Wiseman. The screenplay by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback was based on the 1990 film of the same name, which was inspired by the 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick. The film stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, John Cho, and Bill Nighy. Unlike the first film, the setting is on a dystopian Earth, not Mars, and has more political themes. The film blends American and Asian influences, notably in the settings and dominant populations of the two nation-states in the story: the United Federation of Britain (Western Europe) and the Colony (Australia).

The film was first announced in 2009 and was released in North America on August 3, 2012, grossing over $198 million worldwide. The film received generally negative reviews from critics. It received praise for its action sequences and acting, but the lack of humor, emotional subtlety, and character development drew some criticism.

Plot
At the end of the 21st century, Earth is devastated by chemical warfare. Precious remaining habitable land is found in just two territories: the United Federation of Britain (UFB), located on the British Isles and northwestern Europe; and the Colony, covering Australia. Factory workers living in the Colony quickly commute to the UFB each day via “The Fall,” a gravity elevator through the Earth's core which takes 17 minutes to traverse. A Resistance operating in the UFB, which the UFB views as a terrorist movement, seeks to improve living conditions in the Colony.

Colony citizen Douglas Quaid has been having dreams of being a secret agent, aided by an unnamed woman. Tired of his factory job building police robots with friend Harry, he visits Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories. Quaid chooses a fantasy as a secret agent. An emblem of Rekall is stamped onto his arm and, just as the fantasy is being loaded by technician McClane, they discover that Quaid already has real memories of being a spy. As McClane starts to question Quaid about the memories, a squad of UFB police burst in, kill the Rekall staff, and attempt to arrest Quaid. Quaid reacts instinctively, killing the entire squad. Upon returning home his wife Lori attempts to kill him, revealing that she is a UFB intelligence agent and they've only been “married” for six weeks, not seven years. After Quaid escapes, Charles Hammond, stating he is an old friend, contacts him and directs him to a safe-deposit box, where Quaid finds a message from himself with the address of an apartment.

Pursued by Lori, human and robot police, Quaid is rescued by Melina, the woman from his dreams. At the apartment, Quaid finds another recording, revealing that he is actually Carl Hauser, an agent working for UFB Chancellor Cohaagen to infiltrate the Resistance. Hauser defected, but was recaptured by the UFB and implanted with false memories to manipulate him. The recording reveals that Cohaagen will use robots to wipe out the Colony, replace the Colonists as laborers, and give the UFB more living space. Hauser has seen a “kill code”, which can be recovered from his memory by Resistance leader Matthias, that will disable the robots. Melina reveals that she was Hauser's lover before he was recaptured, comparing their matching scars from a time they were shot while holding hands. The police arrive and Harry appears. He tries to convince Quaid that he is still in a Rekall-induced dream and that killing Melina is the only way out. Quaid is unsure, but notices a tear on Melina's cheek and shoots Harry. Lori pursues the pair, but they escape.

Quaid and Melina find Matthias. While Matthias searches Quaid's memories, Lori and Cohaagen storm the Resistance base. Cohaagen reveals that Hauser was in fact still working for him and contributed to Quaid's memory alteration, dreaming up the kill code as a trap. Cohaagen kills Matthias, takes Melina prisoner, and leaves Hauser for pre-Quaid memory restoration. As the officers are about to inject Quaid, Hammond reveals himself and dies helping Quaid escape.

Cohaagen loads The Fall with his invasion army of robots. Quaid sneaks on board, setting timed explosives throughout the ship while searching for Melina. He frees her as The Fall arrives at the Colony. As they fight the soldiers and Cohaagen, Quaid's explosives detonate. Quaid and Melina jump off before the ship plummets back into the tunnel and explodes underground, killing Cohaagen and destroying his army and The Fall itself – the only way to reach the UFB.

Waking up in an ambulance, Quaid is greeted by Melina. When he notices that she is missing their matching hand scar, he realizes that she is Lori using a holographic disguise; they fight and Lori is killed. Quaid finds the real Melina as news channels declare the independence of the Colony and an advertisement for Rekall plays on a billboard in the background.

In the extended director's cut, Quaid notices that the emblem mark he had gotten at Rekall prior to all that has happened is no longer visible on his arm, suggesting that he is still living a fantasy within the Rekall mainframe.

Cast

 * Colin Farrell as Douglas Quaid/Hauser, a factory worker suffering from strange violent dreams.
 * Kate Beckinsale as Lori Quaid, a UFB undercover agent posing as Quaid's wife.
 * Jessica Biel as Melina, a member of the Resistance and Quaid/Hauser's love interest.
 * Bryan Cranston as Cohaagen, the corrupt and ruthless Chancellor of the United Federation of Britain.
 * Bokeem Woodbine as Harry, Quaid's workmate and best friend – in fact an agent sent by Cohaagen to monitor him.
 * Bill Nighy as Matthias, the leader of the Resistance.
 * John Cho as McClane, a rep and tech at Rekall who offers Quaid the chance to experience an imagined adventure.
 * Dylan Smith (credited as Dylan Scott Smith) as Hammond