Another Good "Question Your Reality" Movie

Arnold Schwarzenegger is Douglas Quaid, a simple construction worker living in the future and dreaming of a more exciting life on the planet Mars. A place of civil unrest, the lower class citizens of the Mars colony are desperately fighting to survive as the corporate powers deny them of their most basic human needs. And, for some unknown reason, the violence of their battle depicted on the daily news causes Douglas to well up with desire to be in the heart of it. His mundane life is so unsatisfying, despite being married to Sharon Stone, that when Douglas sees a TV commercial for a service that provides people with virtual memories, he decides it's worth the risk of being lobotomized. Before we know it, Douglas is being strapped in to take a virtual vacation from his everyday life and into that of a daring spy named Hauser, traveling to the planet Mars on a dangerous mission. Little does he know just how much that decision will change his life forever, or will it just be going back to normal? Who is he, really, Douglas or Hauser? Is our hero really just strapped in a chair and taking a virtual vacation, or is he really just waking up from one? Are we really just the sum of our memories?

In that long, but often enjoyable vein of "question your reality" movies, "Total Recall" is a commanding tour de force! High on adrenaline and testosterone, as any good Schwarzenegger movie should be, "Total Recall" earns the rank of one of his best! The film is a perfect balance of merciless action and thought provoking commentary, with loads of effects and plenty of humor thrown in. Arnold is in top form as Quaid/Hauser, as are Sharon Stone and villains Ronny Cox and Michael Ironside, but no less impressive on this film are the Oscar winning special effects from the likes of Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, Eric Brevig, and Alex Funke. The Special Edition DVD is chock full of cool extras, from featurettes and trailers to galleries and storyboard comparisons, and, most notably, commentary from Director Paul Vorhoeven and star Arnold Schwarzenegger and an in-depth documentary on the creation of the film. The science throughout "Total Recall," especially during the climactic ending, might lead some to eye rolling, but the film is so exciting and fun that the inaccuracies of its science most likely won't even cross your mind. Anyway, to quote MST3K's theme song, "Just repeat to yourself, `It's just a show,' you should really just relax...," or, as Ham Salad says in "Hardware Wars," "Take it easy, kid. It's only a movie."

First Class, Basic, Simple, and Fun ..

If you know a film stars Arnold, you hardly go and see it ( in Cinema or on DVD) for intellectual enlightenment. As for comparing TOTAL RECALL and BLADE RUNNER... well, talk about Apples and Oranges; I like both, but for different reasons.

I saw the VHS version eons ago, and remember when the special edition came out in the little "Mars Shaped" tin container. Almost as weird as the FRIGHT NIGHT case shaped like a Coffin, but quite a nifty idea.
From Years of watching the VHS version, I had a very distinct opinion about the film... I thought it was a straight action flick. Well, the first thing that the commentary does is to disabuse you of that idea. Verhoeven has very grand ideas about his film-making, and by any standards, this film is at the least, a multi-layered work.
Whilst I can appreciate the subtext, and "intertextual" elements of academic books, its not much fun if you just want to escape in a film. Thats why this film works superbly if someone does not actually TELL you that its not what you think it is ... as in the NAME OF THE ROSE ( both Book and film there are very layered).
For my money, if a film cannot entertain you, then its not what I want. Some films serve a different purpose, so if I watch a programme about the Psychoanalytic elements behind the death of Civilisations, I expect to work hard at understanding the work. Or Even a film ABOUT "Schrodingers Cat" would be something I could halfway expect to be a work requiring some mental effort.

The R rated version of this film is right on the money, and provides great FX, and lots of fun. The M rated version is a waste of time in my view.

The most interesting part of the commentary occurs when we find out HOW Verhoeven gets to be the man in the mix.
If Arnold can be said to be anything, it would seem that deal broker is definitely part of his resume.

If the old adage in the making movies is that 90% of your effort is put into finding work, then Arnold does this well... even if some say he cannot act :-).... At the Very least, one can say that he entertains. For my money, I think he can act, either that, or I just enjoy Arnolds' antics.

All Arnold... All the Time

This futuristic thriller is vintage Arnold - cheesey lines, great action, lots of futuristic themes, and one massive & angry beast... aka Arnold.

I've owned this DVD for two years and watched it countless times - like wine, it ages nicely.

Total Recall ranks among Arnold's top 10 films - I will have to make a Listmania with specifics on those rankings =)