Total Recall- One of the best sci-fi genre movies!

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2013)

This review of mine is more like my voice of disagreement with people who didn't like the 2012 version of Total Recall. But first I'll point out what I liked about both the versions.
Total Recall(1990)- Of course Arnold. I felt a certain rawness in his act which I liked. He actually looked unaware of things going around, as his character required. For Sharon Stone,she was simply stunning! Enough said. The story was far ahead of it times and stands the same even today thats why it deserved a remake. This is the 2nd movie of Paul Verhoeven's direction that I have seen.(I have seen Hollowman), and his amazing work in Total Recall and Sharon Stone are the 2 reasons, I want to see Basic Instinct now. Also I liked the fact that this was one of the last movies which used miniatures,like for showing Mars planet. Bravo to the team, amazing work. Overall, an entertaining concept, performance and movie.
Total Recall(2012)- I liked the major change in the original screenplay and not using idea of Mars and still keeping the same concept of the original Total Recall. Requires a lot of creativity to bring out and create something new from something which is already a blockbuster. Thats the most exciting part of this version. Of course there are scenes which are more of a tribute to the original and shot with new technology and effects. Colin Farrell is an amazing actor. I liked him in the flick 'The Recruit'(2003) and for me he was equally good in this one. Also in this movie, Colin Farrel doing a smooch scene with the director's wife(Kate Beckinsale) in front of him, requires a lot of confidence and professionalism. But Kate comes nowhere close to the charisma of Sharon Stone. Jessica Biel here stole the show. She did a good act. Len Wiseman as a director did take a risk of choosing this remake and I appreciate he came up with something like this. I liked his work in 'Die Hard 4'. This movie is not as huge hit as its predecessor, but its neither a complete washout. But personally I liked the remake and it was entertaining for me.
Comparisions- I don't care why critics panned the 2012 version. Both versions were quite different in terms of execution of the same concept. Also I equally liked the sets and the ambiance created in both the movies. In the end, either ways I enjoyed the experience of Total Recall(just like Inception). But still if I had to pickup one thing better from another, then I would say, Total Recall(2012) missed out a point because it didn't have Sharon Stone! Must watch both of them!