Total Recall (1990)

Verhoeven's opus is one of the last non-CGI sci-fi action films, and one of the best Schwarzenegger vehicles. The effects in this film are lovingly done, and always memorable, even if they don't quite achieve photorealism: "The Lady" at the spaceport (aka Arnold = Douglas Quade in disguise); pulling the probe from Quade's nose; the scene where the camera sweeps away from the train window to Mars; and of course those bulging Mars-eyes at the end. I enjoy the mastery of physical effects whenever I see it again.This film has some of Arnold's better acting, and the support cast is great: Sharon Stone as the 'wife' to keep Arnold under wraps, the sweaty psychiatrist, Mel Johnson as the cab driver with a skeletized double arm, Ronnie Cox as the embodiment of corporate evil, and Ironsides as his henchman. And that's only the start. Verhoeven really gets the best out of his staff, and proves once again, as in Robocop, Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct that he is an auteur of gritty action-drama. I know it's heresy, but at his best he's like a violent Hitchcock.Don't look for Phil Dick's true spirit here, although the film nicely rehearses the paradoxes of when is dream reality and reality dream (e.g. the psychiatrist scene). Verhoeven made the topic his own, in a good way, with less of Dick's intellectual probing, and more action.It's too bad they don't make films like this any more, and instead make them like the 2000s sequel: boring, flat, fake-looking CGI-laden, with competent but uninspired acting, going through the action moves.Like many Verhoeven films, a classic.

Total Recall is one of the great action movies of the 1990s. In fact it is one of the great films of the decade. Director Paul Verhoeven delivers a layered plot, bone crunching violence, state of the art special effects, satirical swipes at right wing corporations. In Arnold Schwarzenegger he found an actor who could deliver the heroics, the action and the violence.Based on a short story by Philip K Dick, 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.' Total Recall is set in a future where corporations run amok. Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a hard working construction worker who visits a company called Rekall that implants fake memories of a holiday to the planet Mars despite concerns expressed by his wife Lori (Sharon Stone) and his work colleague.While undergoing the process where he decides to upgrade his trip as a spy on a mission, it seems Quaid's memory has already been erased and his existing memory were recreated. Now Quaid is on the run with plenty of bad guys after him. With no one left he could trust, Quaid sets off to Mars to find the truth about himself. In Mars he finds he is someone who was feared and not liked. Quaid decides there is a secret about Mars worth fighting for and Quaid leads the resistance group against the company that runs the planet and controls the air supply.The violence is visceral and strong. The action is very well placed. Yet Total Recall also has a terrific story, the plotting is complex and always keeps you guessing whether it is a dream or is it real? With further re-watches you unravel further clues and the credit for that goes to the director.

If this film had been billed as comedy instead of science fiction I would have given it a higher rating. But, alas, it seems that the director was only trying to appeal to the most unsophisticated audiences possible; and in that regard I guess he succeeded. The acting was terrible throughout. Arnold was his usual wooden self with some of the worst dialogue imaginable. Even his patented tough guy one-liners were predictable and lame (he says "consider that a divorce" after shooting Sharon Stone, his pretend wife, in the head). And most of his actions scenes, which comprised most of the movie, were simply laughable. It seems to me that Arnold's best acting work is as a robot.Sharon Stone wasn't much better unless her goal was to portray a cartoonish, sleazy bitch that no one could take seriously. If that was the case she pulled it off pretty well.It actually scares me to see so many reviewers rate this piece of trash 10 stars. What were they watching! How low are their standards! I suppose if all it takes are a bunch of loud explosions, lots of breaking glass, and completely implausible chase scenes to make one happy, then this film delivers on all counts. But is that what it has come to?After viewing this gigantic failure I Googled Philip K Dick to see if he was still around to witness this atrocious portrayal of his work. He wasn't. It was sad to see that he died so young (53), but at least he didn't have to witness this insult to his talent and imagination. Oh well, we'll always have Blade Runner!

After seeing the 2012 Version of Total Recall, I just had to time travel back to 1990 and review the original...There simply is no comparison that can be applied to the two movies. Arnie's Total Recall has all the elements that make for a very entertaining film, where the newer one has none of it...this movie has dynamic, location scenes, good acting (if a bit over the top), and frankly always has your attention...the new one has none of that either...So ultimately, trying to compare these two versions would be like comparing a one pound hamburger to a one pound pile of hay. It just does not compute, heh heh...