At the turn of the last decade, Colin Farrell was the next big thing. His performances in 2000s Tigerland was praised by critics and by 2002, he starred in Minority Report opposite Tom Cruise, Hart’s War opposite Bruce Willis and led Phone Booth to great reviews and healthy returns. By 2006, however, the fame, money and ladies had gotten to his head and bad decision after bad decision rendered him a has-been.
But after the failure of would-be hits like Miami Vice and Alexander, Farrell underwent a renaissance. He took leading roles in smaller films like In Bruges, Cassandra’s Dream and Ondine and rebuilt his reputation as a wonderful actor with the good looks of a movie star and the abilities of a legendary thesp. He’s slowly started to make his way back into bigger movies this year, as he’s got Horrible Bosses and Fright Night in the can and set for release next year, but now he’s about to get another shot at blockbuster action.
The Wrap reports that Farrell is wanted by Sony Pictures Entertainment for its upcoming Total Recall remake that has fans both curious and flabergasted. Len Wiseman will direct from a script by Kurt Wimmer while power-producer Neal Moritz will do his thing in the background. The source claims that Farrell is high on the list of potentials to take on the role of a Martian renegade that was immortalized by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Paul Verhoeven’s beloved 1990 sci-fi flick. However, word on the street is that Sony’s new take would be closer in tone to the source material – Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.”
While I’m a huge fan of both the action packed original film and Farrell’s resurgence, I can’t get on board with this just yet. Verhoeven’s movie is so complete and entertaining I just don’t see why it needs to be revisited. Sure, corporate profits have something to do with it, but there’s plenty of 80s science fiction that actually needs to be revamped (Enemy Mine anybody?). I pray that Moritz and co. adheres to the legacy of Schwarzenegger’s film and Dick’s story, because Total Recall is not something to be taken lighlty.
Source: The Wrap
