There’s no reason to remake Total Recall. The film, like many of Verhoeven’s best, still feels fresh and contemporary. It’s a crazy, over the top blast of greatness that’s just as good today as it was upon original release. But that doesn’t stop Hollywood, so Sony is remaking the film.
A remake of Total Recall, while stunningly unneeded, could actually be good. You get the right team on it and allow them to go as wet and weird as Verhoeven did and you might end up with something. Instead Sony is bringing on Len Wiseman, who is not a particularly good director, not a particularly interesting director, and certainly not a reasonable match for this material.
On top of that the remake is being produced by Neil Moritz, which means that the whole thing is just going to be meatheaded. Moritz needs filmmakers who battle against his base, crass, moronic urges, not ones who share them.
Give the people air, Cohagen. Or at least a good director.