Welcome to the year 2084, where we're quickly introduced to construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Quaid has been having recurring dreams about Mars, dreams that have made him long for a vacation on the red planet. His wife Lori (Sharon Stone) talks him out of it, though, citing the civil unrest and conflict amongst the Martian colonists. Disappointed with the rejection, Quaid pays a visit to Rekall, a company that specializes in implanting fake memories of fabulous vacations into the minds of their customers. The price is a bit steep, but Quaid signs up for a Martian adventure with a "secret agent" theme.
But just as the procedure begins, something goes wrong and Quaid awakens to discover that he actually is a secret agent. His entire life as Douglas Quaid has been manufactured as a cover story to protect him from his enemies on Mars. With a team of assassins led by the sadistic Richter (Michael Ironside) after him, Quaid quickly finds himself in the middle of a war between Martian governor Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox) and a band of rebels seeking to overthrow him. His only assistance comes from Melina (Rachel Ticotin), a friend who knew him before he assumed his new life as Quaid. But as he becomes more embroiled in the battle for Mars's freedom, it will become harder and harder for Quaid to deduce what is reality and what was implanted by Rekall.
Nobody is ever going to accuse Total Recall of being high art, but it doesn't need to be. Some movies are made just so the audience can have fun, and Total Recall is exactly that. It's one of those movies that you could watch over and over without it ever getting stale or worn out. While it bears many of the hallmarks of your typical cheesy Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie, it's still a thrilling adventure that is both smart and a ton of fun. And besides, what's wrong with the occasional cheesy Schwarzenegger movie, anyway?
Helming the movie is Paul Verhoeven, directing his first effort following his 1987 classic RoboCop. Though Verhoeven is more well-known nowadays as the guy that made Showgirls, Verhoeven directed some absolutely awesome movies before that particular disaster. Total Recall is one of those, and his efforts here are really, really good. Verhoeven's efforts in the sci-fi genre have a distinct visual style, and Total Recall isn't any different. The special effects look outstanding (though I'd expect nothing less from effects designed by Rob Bottin), and the cinematography pulls you right into the story. Verhoeven keeps the movie going at a steady pace too, keeping the movie going and only slowing down enough to let us catch our breath after each big, genuinely exciting action sequence.
It also helps that Verhoeven is working from a great script. The concept of a cinematic adaptation of "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" bounced around from writer to writer for years, the final screenplay ― credited to Ronald Schusett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman ― is a very well-done piece of work. It successfully blends all the typical Schwarzenegger movie clichés (over-the-top violence, corny one-liners, et cetera) with an intelligence that a lot of these old-school action movies lack.
The movie consistently leaves us questioning whether or not the whole movie is all in Quaid's head, bringing something of an existential crisis to what would be an otherwise typical futuristic action movie. It's not a wholly cerebral movie, not one that'll challenge its viewers. But the fact that its writers actually played up the science fiction aspect in the midst of all the macho bravado of the action going on makes the movie that much cooler.
The only thing left for me to talk about is the movie's cast, who all put forth some fine work. And you might call me crazy for saying this, but I thought the best performance came from our leading man. Nobody will ever make a serious argument that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a master thespian, but when a movie plays to his strengths, he can be a lot of fun. Total Recall does just that, putting things together in such a way that Schwarzenegger can grab the movie by the reins and run off with it. He's great in the role, playing the typical macho character you expect from him but adding a sense of confusion to the role. You really got the sense that Quaid is really unsure if he's experiencing fantasy or reality, thanks to the vulnerability Schwarzenegger allows to creep into the role. Sure, he's still playing "Action Hero Extraordinaire," but Total Recall is up there as one of the better performances of his career.
But the supporting cast contributes some respectable work as well. Playing the movie's resident "big bad" is Ronny Cox, who played a similarly sleazy villain for Verhoeven three years earlier in RoboCop Cox plays the role absolutely perfectly; he's a total slimeball that, if I may use a tired cliché, the kind of guy you'll love hating. The guy is a great actor and although RoboCop is my favorite of Cox's performances, this movie's pretty high up there too.
I also really liked Sharon Stone and I thought Rachel Ticotin was likable and charismatic in her role. But beyond Schwarzenegger and Cox, my favorite performance came from Michael Ironside, who plays Cohaagen's enforcer and chief lieutenant. I've never seen a movie where Ironside wasn't awesome, and Total Recall proves to be no different. He's a mean, sadistic, ruthless jerk, and every second he's on the screen is awesome.
And that's actually what Total Recall is: awesome. I wouldn't call it one of the best sci-fi movies of the '90s if I didn't feel it deserved that label. It's a fun, exciting, and truly entertaining movie that lives up to every positive thing that's been said about it over the last twenty years. You've probably already seen Total Recall a hundred times if you're a fan of science fiction or Schwarzenegger's brand of action movies, but if you haven't yet, it's definitely worth it. I'm just hoping that the remake can do it justice, because otherwise, I'll be really disappointed.
Final Rating: ****
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