Sony Pictures has released a new clip for its upcoming science fiction reboot of Total Recall.
The story is intended to be a bit of a mind-bender, with the audience never really figuring out which of the many possible stories is true for the protagonist, as everyone in the tale is trying to sell him a different version of himself.
While the previous adaptation of the material, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, decided to tone down the cerebral nature of the tale, and limit itself to only one major twist, the new film seems to pull more twisty punches.
One of these is getting more in depth with the ruler of Earth, and his direct involvement in the events of the film. Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen is the leader of Earth, and could be considered the main villain of the film, though he works mostly through his own agents. This clip gives us a good bit of screen time for him, as he interacts with Kate Beckinsale’s character, discussing the protagonist.
The scene is also interesting because our protagonist, Quaid, is not in it. The Schwarzenegger film was pretty careful to primarily show scenes from Quaid’s point of view, since part of the point is that we’re not sure if everything is only in his head.
The official synopsis is thus:
Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story ‘We Can Remember It For You Wholesale’ by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories.
For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he’s got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life—real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man.
Finding himself on the run from the police—controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world—Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.
And here’s the most recent theatrical trailer
Total Recall hits theaters on August 3, 2012.
