TOTAL RECALL (Rated PG-13)

If you remember, “Total Recall” starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone in a science-fiction thriller, based on a Philip K. Dick story, about a man with erased memories that come back and trigger all sorts of mayhem.

The new “Total Recall,” to be sure, is a remake of the 1990 film, but there a lot of differences, which I will not dwell on because my memory has pretty much failed me and, well, it is time to move on.

What is new is the setting of Earth, in the not-so-distant future, where chemical warfare has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable, with the exception of Australia and the United Kingdom.

Australia is called the Colony because it is a suburb for migrant workers, while the British islands are now called the United Federation of Britain (UFB), the upscale city center, home to the elite and government leaders.

Colin Farrell’s Douglas Quaid works in a factory that assembles the robotic police force known as Synthetics, droids that look like cheap imitation Imperial storm troopers on loan from “Star Wars.”

Living in the Colony, Douglas commutes to his job in an elevator-like chamber that rockets through the Earth’s core in mere minutes. It’s a nifty contraption that might be used as a selling point for high-speed rail, though we don’t know about the cost overruns.

The landscape in the squalid Colony is reminiscent of the bleak world of “Blade Runner,” but here the drab architecture is so gray that it recalls the Stalinist era of unappealing public housing.

In science-fiction movies, life in the future hardly ever looks very promising. I guess if it really looked like a utopian dream, it wouldn’t seem all that intriguing or result in a compelling story.

Unfortunately, familiarity with the theme of “Total Recall” does not make for an entirely persuasive account of one man’s struggle against the governmental leviathan. But it’s still fun to see a dogged guy take on the villains.

But for recurring nightmares, Douglas would probably remain comfortable coming home at the end of the day to his attractive bride Lori (Kate Beckinsale).

Yet, something nags at his conscience, and he pays a visit to Rekall, a company that offers to create pleasant memories with the help of a chemical implant.

The session goes horribly wrong when the Rekall process triggers Douglas’ repressed memories of his past life as a secret agent.  

Alarm bells go off and the UFB security forces descend on the laboratory. When the dust settles, Douglas has killed about two dozen federal agents in a big shootout.

Forced to go on the run, Douglas quickly learns that there are very few people he can trust, least of all his wife, who turns out to be a highly-trained UFB operative skilled in martial arts and all sorts of weaponry.

That Douglas is considered a person of interest to the government controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) is something of a puzzle, because we are not entirely sure for what side Douglas was once a spy.

Because the government run by Cohaagen is so autocratic and ruthless, there is the inevitable resistance movement that the chancellor’s minions are relentlessly seeking to destroy.

The rebel leader is identified as Mathias (Bill Nighy), who is so well-hidden that not even his own operatives know the actual location of his hideaway.

Once on the lam, Douglas is aided in a getaway in a thrilling high-speed levitated auto chase by rebel commander Melina (Jessica Biel).

Apparently, Douglas and Melina had a previous history together, but the chases and confrontations with the opposite forces leave little room or time to rekindle the old romantic flames.

“Total Recall” is heavy on action and great special effects, leaving insufficient time for existential reflection on the troubling implications of the dystopian universe in which the oppressed are trapped under the thumb of the evil Cohaagen.

Fear not, this film is, above all, filled with graphic action and brutal violence, and Douglas Quaid becomes an effective action hero, albeit one without any special or unusual powers.

Visual effects, large and small, represent remarkable feats in “Total Recall,” from the complex moving parts of the elevator systems to the simple glowing cell phone implanted in Douglas’s right hand.

It matters not at all that logic is sometimes missing, because the end game, sought by director Len Wiseman, is to deliver the action goods.  

Well, the director succeeds, even though few of us may recall his movie to any great degree mere weeks from now.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Tom Selleck delivers some of his best work as small-town police chief Jesse Stone, in a series of eponymous TV movies that have aired for years on the CBS Network.

I recently became hooked on the “Jesse Stone” TV movies, most of which I found readily available at my local supermarket at bargain rates.

“Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt,” apparently the eighth installment, is being released on DVD, without the benefit of any special features.

But never mind the extras.  The “Jesse Stone” franchise is riveting entertainment, in which Selleck’s effective crime fighter is a conflicted character with a troubled past.

It would help immensely to catch up on the previous films, mainly so that you are familiar with the great cast of characters on both sides of the law.

Even so, “Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt” stands quite well on its own. Just know that Selleck’s police chief, who had been forced into retirement, is called back to duty in this installment.

Returning to his job, Selleck’s Jesse Stone does not disappoint with his uncanny ability to use his intuition to sort through a maze of misleading clues.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.