Total Recall

At least their lead character has an excuse. The filmmakers behind Total Recall have fuzzy memories that might be harder to explain.

They seem to have forgotten about the previous Total Recall film, made just 22 years ago, or that the same Philip K. Dick short story also was an inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report in 2002.

Yet here is a premature remake of a mediocre post-apocalyptic thriller that changes the basic details of the story, waters down the sex and violence, and trades in Arnold Schwarzenegger for Colin Farrell in the lead role.

This version, directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld), features an imaginative futuristic vision compromised by a convoluted script that takes itself too seriously. It’s a 20th century story in a 22nd century setting.

It takes place about 100 years into the future, when chemical warfare has left only two areas of Earth inhabitable. Western Europe houses the government and affluent segments of society, while Australia is known as “The Colony.”

Farrell plays Douglas, a blue-collar factory worker in The Colony who is being haunted by nightmares, something he tries to solve by undergoing an experimental operation to implant different memories into his brain.

When the procedure goes awry, Douglas learns that his life isn’t as simple as he thought, and he becomes a fugitive from police during a time when a working-class rebellion is under way and the world is on the verge of high-tech warfare.

As lines blur between fantasy and reality, he accumulates clues to his past like pieces to a puzzle, fighting to save his life while learning that both he and his wife (Kate Beckinsale) might have secret identities.

The film’s bleak interpretation of the future is visually striking, supplemented by some dazzling visual effects and some taut action sequences. They include foot chases through crowded streets and shootouts with killer robots.

Farrell, using an American accent, is convincing enough at the beginning as a common man facing desperate circumstances.

However, the screenplay by action movie veterans Kurt Wimmer (Salt) and Mark Bomback (Unstoppable) features cheesy dialogue and simplistic takes on class structure and other socioeconomic issues.

Total Recall hints at some intriguing science-fiction concepts but fails to generate suspense. Its goals are more about showing off than making sense.

Rated PG-13, 118 minutes.