Total Recall premiere in Los Angeles August 1, 2012

Colin Farrell and co-stars Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel were all smiles as they greeted the long line of fans in Los Angeles movie premiere of the sci-fi action film Total Recall at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on August 1, 2012.

If the name of the film sounds familiar, it’s because it should. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone starred in the original 1990 movie of the same name.

Farrell told Reuters though that while his film shares similarities, it's also different.

"The name of the film, the characters name, a lot of the plot points are the same, some of the lines are lifted from the original," said Farrell. "The third act is completely different and the tone of the film is completely different. But, hopefully it justifies its existence and the two hours of entertainment that we made it to be."

Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick.

In the film, Recall is a company that promises to turn your dreams into real memories. For factory worker Douglas Quaid played by Farrell, even though he's got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) whom he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life — real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police —controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston) — there is no one Quaid can trust, except possibly a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) working for the head of the underground resistance. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.

Beckinsale explained that while she was familiar with the first film, she found it easy to bring a new take on her role originally played by Sharon Stone.

"I honestly don't think about it," said Beckinsale.

"When you are an actress making a movie you meet your character on the page that you do on anything else and I think we knew we were making such a totally different movie anyway. It's important to focus on this one, there is so much original stuff in our movie."

Total Recall opens in movie theaters August 3.