Total Recall
Total Recall
Douglas Quaid is haunted by a recurring dream about a journey to Mars. He hopes to find out more about this dream and buys a holiday at Rekall Inc. where they sell implanted memories. But something goes wrong with the memory implantation and he remembers being a secret agent fighting against the evil Mars administrator Cohaagen. Now the story really begins and it's a rollercoaster ride until the massive end of the movie.
EnochLight reviewedMarch 11, 2025
Classic Paul Verhoeven, it's a miracle this film even got made - having been stuck in developmental hell for so many years and once considered to be unfilmable. Thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger - who single-handedly saved this film (after Dino De Laurentiis's DEG went bankrupt) by convincing a small indie studio called Carolco to purchase the rights, A few re-writes later and things were underway, with Schwarzenegger essentially acting as executive producer.
Many regard Verhoeven's 1987 "Robocop" as a superior film, but I have to disagree: "Total Recall" takes everything to the next level, in spectacle as well as story telling. As the original short story that it was based on (Philip K. Dick's "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale") could barely fill 30 pages, sending our protagonist to actual Mars was a stroke of genius - and largely one of the reasons why this film was considered unfilmable for so many years. This film is worth seeing just for the miniature sets alone, and the practical effects such as fat suits, face masks, and mutant prosthetics are nothing short of perfect for its time, and most still hold up today.
The story is compelling, and once again allows Verhoeven to immerse the viewer in the corporate greed and satire that he focused on in "Robocop" (even featuring Ronny Cox as our corporate villain once again), while also adding an otherworldly take on an Indiana Jones subplot featuring ancient Martian aliens. Filled with classic one-liners, gratuitous violence (almost to the point of being comical), and an ending that is pure spectacle, this film is a masterpiece and worthy of being called one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. It certainly remains in the pantheon, anyway.
Jerry Goldsmith's score is brilliant, with the main theme almost echoing Basil Poledouris' "Conan: The Barbarian" with electronics. Taking into consideration Schwarzenegger essentially played executive producer, this is not surprising - but welcome.
"Total Recall" would go on to be financially and critically successful, and paved the way for Verhoeven to create his apex of satire with 1997's "Starship Troopers" (another brilliant sci-fi classic). Watch it! And kiss me before I wake up.