Discussion Film / TotalRecall2012

There are two things I strongly disagree with:

• Adaptational Heroism: Unlike the original movie, this Hauser truly did turn against Cohaagen.

Actually, we can't really be sure of that. In the scene where Cohaagen and his troops attack Mathias's base, he congratulates Hauser for his work and clearly says that once he'll recover his memories, he'll turn back into the ruthless and loyal agent he used to be. It's unclear if Cohaagen was telling the truth or not, but ultimately it's left ambiguous wether Hauser was a good guy or a bad guy in this version.

• Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: In the original Total Recall, there was a perfectly legitimate explanation why Hauser had to have his memory erased and take on the Quaid persona, because Quato, the leader of the resistance was a mutant who could read minds, and could easily detect an undercover spy therefore. But in the remake, the leader is just some standard normal guy without any mind reading ability, thus eliminating the need to erase his memory, and making the whole premise of the film rather faulty.

Well, there is a different, but still perfectly legitimate reason why Hauser had to have his memory erased in this version. Since the Resistance never revealed to him the location of Mathias's base, Cohaagen decided to pretend that Hauser learned the secret code to desactivate the Synthetics that the Resistance desperately needs, then erased his memory. That way, the Resistance has no other choice but to bring him to Mathias's base, where they have the equipment to search for the code in his brain. Once he's there, Cohaagen can track him, find the base, and eliminate Mathias and the Resistance for good (which is exactly what happened).

Asskicking Equals Authority: Towards the end of the film, Colin Farrell's character shoots Lori out the back of an ambulance. For a second, those nearby get a bit jumpy. One says, "It's alright, it's him." Everyone decides to not question what just happened despite it being a very public murder given he's The Hero. Does that count?