Total Recall Remake: Why?

I have a bad feeling about the remake of "Total Recall," the sci-fi thriller that was adapted from Philip K. Dick's 1966 short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." The1990 movie, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, was a masterpiece. (And for my money, the best thing Schwarzenegger ever made, with the possible exception of "True Lies.")

The story line hasn't changed. A factory worker, in need of a vacation, heads for a company that can implant memories in the brain. For some excitement, he chooses to adopt the life of a secret agent, but he is quickly drawn into a mystery that melds true and induced memories.

The temptation will be to make the new version -- starring Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessice Biel -- bigger and splashier, with over-the-top special effects. And judging by the trailer that's where it's headed. But one of the most appealing aspects of the original was that it was relatively simple, at least for science fiction. It left a lot to the viewer's imagination, which was appropriate for a mind-bending movie born from a short story.

The works of Dick (1928-82) have been used as the basis for many movies. Among them "Blade Runner" (based on the novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"), "The Adjustment Bureau" ("Adjustment Team") and "Minority Report," ("The Minority Report").