Total Recall

Douglas Quaid is a factory laborer who looks for escape in high-tech memory vacations, paying Rekall to implant the fantasy of a spy life. The memory procedure goes wrong and Quaid wakes with disorienting clues that hint his life may not be what he remembers. Police and security forces label him a criminal, and he's forced to question every relationship and every memory he previously trusted. With help from a rebel woman who shares his suspicions, he tries to peel back the layers of false memories to learn who benefits from keeping the truth hidden, while action and betrayals keep the stakes escalating. He must contend with shifting loyalties, overlapping deceptions and relentless pursuit through a neon-drenched metropolitan sprawl constantly.

Len Wiseman directed this 2012 sci-fi action remake, screenplay by Mark Bomback, Jon Povill and Kurt Wimmer, featuring glossy visuals. The movie reinterprets the 1990 Total Recall, which drew on Philip K. Dick's 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.'

The film had a solid international rollout and attracted mainstream audiences with big set pieces. It earned enough revenue to be commercially successful, though many observers noted it didn't capture the same cultural standing as the earlier film, worldwide buzz.

Audiences compared it to the Paul Verhoeven original, sparking debates about how to update a cult favorite. The remake's visuals and action sequences drew notice, and it led to conversations about memory and identity in pop culture, though few moments became as iconic as the 1990 film, and online debates.

Critical response was mixed, reflected by a vote average of 6.028/10 from 5,735 votes. Critics praised the stunts and effects but often faulted shallow character work and simplified plotting. Themes include how memory shapes identity, and the ethics of manufactured recall under corporate and governmental power, and audience reactions varied.