SYNOPSIS
In 2079, is weapons expert Gary Sinise really a synthetic robot programmed by an alien enemy to assassinate a leading politician? Or is he the same human being that he's convinced he's always been? As the fascist military close in to make an arrest, bland Sinise races against time to prove his humanity in this over-padded and dreary version of a Philip K Dick short story that poses no threat to Blade Runner's reputation as the most satisfying celluloid realisation of the author's work. Director Gary Fleder's shopworn Total Recall starts well - the special effects budget clearly got used up first - but it soon degenerates into a mindlessly repetitive chase thriller that pays scant lip service to Dick's signature themes of identity crisis, messianic android angst and political paranoia. Nothing more than a B-movie version of The Fugitive in cheap sci-fi trappings, Fleder's first futuristic feature staggers towards an irritating finale while making numerous pit stops at "Cliché Central" along the way.
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