A
nearly unrecognizable adaptation of a classic Philip K. Dick story, Total
Recall may have been re-scripted a reported 40+ times, but in the end, it
still emerges as one of the best science fiction films of its era. From
outward appearances, it would seem like just another brain-dead action vehicle
for Arnie (Predator, The
Terminator) to blow everything up in sight, and he certainly does that,
but that's just scratching the surface of what makes this a must-see movie for
all sci-fi/action junkies. It's clever, thoughtful, absorbing, and
exhilarating; it delivers all the goods you could want, and then gives you a
little more.
Set on Earth of the future, where we've
already mastered the ability for space travel to through the solar system, and
even set up colonies on Mars, Total Recall surrounds a lowly construction worker
named Douglas Quaid, who has recently been plagued by a recurring dream of being
on Mars. His doting wife (Stone, The Quick and
the Dead) tells Doug it's just a dream, but there's something in
the events of the dreams that makes him curious to find out more about the red
planet. Seeing an advertisement for a company called Rekall, an
establishment that will implant the memory of a vacation into the mind in vivid
and perfect detail, Doug decides to choose the "secret agent" package set on
Mars.
No sooner than the implanted thoughts enter
his head, Doug finds himself in what he perceives to be a real-life espionage
drama involving himself and his role in a Martian underground society of spies,
all seeking to end the stranglehold of a megalomaniac corporate businessman
named Cohaagen (Cox, Beverly Hills Cop).
Fighting for his life, Doug makes his way to Mars to try to uncover the secret
to who he really is, but not everything is what it seems to be, both on Mars and
in his mind.
Director Paul Verhoeven (Hollow
Man, Starship Troopers) pulls out all stops in this ultra-violent and
action-packed rollercoaster ride of a movie that never lets up for a second.
It's tightly edited, always moving forward, with more than a few nifty twists to
keep the plot mercurial enough to be fascinating. The violence is often
gratuitous, and in many cases, quite graphic, but as Verhoeven did so well in
Robocop, the humorous tone is always maintained in a way that tempers the
impact of the bloodiness. Perhaps a few things are excessive -- the scenes
with humans exposed to the air-less environs of Mars are ridiculously overdone
-- but given the fantastical nature of the presentation, it seems disingenuous
to nitpick about a few inconsistencies in physics and logic.
If you aren't squeamish about heavy doses
of violence, Total Recall gets a high recommendation for fans of action
and science fiction adventures. Easily Schwazenergger's best non-Terminator
film (apologies to Predator fans), this one will probably be in any
collection among those that consider themselves to be his biggest fans.
You may not be able to take a trip to Mars, but after watching Total Recall,
the memory of living out an adventure as a secret agent in a world of danger is
well worth the film's rental price to implant.
--
Remade in 2012
Qwipster's rating:
©2005 Vince Leo
