The Total Recall remake was announced to a lot of hype and support from fans abroad with the casting of Colin Farrell in the lead and the addition of Kate “Underworld” Beckinsale just amplified the excitement for many. The original film was an internet classic with expectations of a modern day re-telling reaching epic proportions that it all it had to do was be ‘good’ to succeed. Well original Total Recall Paul Verhoeven saw the new remake and frankly he’s not impressed.
Schwarzenegger was never asked to make a cameo and the tone of the film became more serious compared to the original. After four weeks in theaters, the remake grossed only $134 million globally on a $125 million budget. In other words, it earned half as much as the original, but cost twice as much.
Now, during a screening of the 1990 version of “Total Recall” inHollywood, director Paul Verhoevenanswereda few questions, including what he thought about the remake.
He said: “Arnold being [in the original ‘Total Recall’] made the movie a little light, and I think that’s very important for these Philip Dick stories. I think if it would have been done in a straight way, I’m not so sure that it would haveworked– at least, not at that time. And recently [in the ‘Total Recall’ remake], it did not. I get to say that because the producer of the new one said that [the original] was cheesy or something. And Colin Farrell called it in aninterview’kitschy.’ So I dare to say that his version was not good.”
I wasn’t aware that Farrell foolishly dissed the original. Verohoeven has a good point that Arnold found a way to inject a bit of lightheartedness into an otherwise stylishly violent film and when you think about it Farrell doesn’t have the same charisma.
Via: Worst Previews