People older than me seem to really love 1990’s “Total Recall” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, for reasons I can’t seem to understand.

The effects are pretty cool, the action’s not bad but it’s hard to take seriously because of how insane Schwarzenegger is in the movie. So when I read reviews that say this movie isn’t as good as the 1990’s version I get a little confused.

2012’s “Total Recall” begins in the future after chemical warfare has forced all of Earth’s inhabitants to live in bright and shiny United Federation of Britian (the U.K.) or slummy and rundown “Colony” (Australia) and stars Colin Farrell as an assembly line worker named Doug Quaid who is unsatisfied with his average lower class life.

After seeing an advertisement for Rekall, a business that allows the customer to have fake memories implanted in their brain.

Quaid visits Rekall and asks for the memories of a secret agent. Trouble arises when the fake secret agent memories clash with Quaid’s brain, which apparently already had memories of being a secret agent.

The police storm in and Quaid effortlessly takes them down. Nothing is as it seems as people from Quaid’s life, including his wife played by Kate Beckinsale, reveal themselves to be fellow secret agents keeping an eye on him.

Beckinsale is awesome and turns in a fantastic performance. Farrell just seems confused throughout which is a good and a bad thing. I really do wish studios would let Colin Farrell do more of the character driven parts rather than blockbusters.

Then the movie picks up and rarely slows down, seamlessly moving from action scene to action scene.

Things complicate when Quaid meets Melina, played by Jessica Biel, who claims he has a big part in the ongoing rebellion against the UFB and the UFB chancellor, Cohaagen played beautifully by Bryan Cranston.

Cranston is easily the best part of the movie and dominates every scene he is in, playing the part so straight you overlook the goofy quirks of the plot.

The film was directed by “Underworld” and “Live Free or Die Hard” director, Len Wiseman, who once again shows that he knows how to handle a chain of action scenes and is photographed by Paul Cameron, “Man on Fire”.

The film is absolutely beautiful to look at and the set pieces have so much visual style that you sometimes forget to look at the action.

As a narrative, the film is a bit weak; characters get mysterious introductions with very little pay off or actually development and the audience could have a hard time relating to many of the protagonists simply because the movie never shows us their motivations.

But it’s never really an issue. We, as the audience, relate to Quaid because he is likable enough and it just trying figure out who he really is.

Some of the movies logic is confounding; why for example do the people who design soldier robots give them guns rather then just building the guns into their arms?

Why, in a world where we have phones embedded in our hands do we still need to put our hand to our ear and mouth to talk?

I mean, now in 2012 we already have hands free phones so why do they still need them in the future?

And why on Earth would anyone design a robot’s central processor to be its face when the entire rest of the robot is completely bulletproof?

Both this movie and the 1990 version are based on the short story “We can remember it for you wholesale” by Phillip K. Dick.

An argument can be made that this movie is not a remake of the 1990’s movie and is instead a n adaptation of the short story.

It’s difficult to compare the two movies because they are tonally very different and have different messages despite following basically the same plot.

1990’s “Total Recall” is full of one liners, weird effects and Arnold’s crazy faces.

2012’s “Total Recall” is full of straight faced people shooting at each other in continually escalating (figuratively and literally) set pieces.

But despite it’s slightly un-engaging characters and nonsensical moments the movie is still a huge thrill ride with some pretty clever moments and a really inventive visual style.

It’s not the best action movie to come out in years but is a certainly capable action film by all accounts.

“Total Recall” is still in theaters.