TOTAL RECALL
[Probable Spoilers]
Reviewer: Jaye Mathisen
Copyright 1990 Jaye Mathisen
Summary: Sometime in the future, Douglas Quaid finds out that he's not who he remembers himself to be. From there, the plot takes a downturn into aliens, violence, Mars,violence, air on Mars, violence, and memory implants.
Up until now, I've always liked Schwarzenegger movies. They're usually not too intellectual, have lots of action, lots of violence, babes, guns, chases, muscles, and all the other good things that make an action film an action film. Until now. While TOTAL RECALL had lots of violence, the special effects got in the way of what could have been a good movie. It doesn't bother me to watch people get hung, shot, karate chopped, or what-have-you, but gallons of blood spraying everywhere tend to be distracting, rather than "entertaining". I know I'm not squeamish about blood (having worked for a fire department and an ambulance company), but slow-mo of globules of blood flying through the air just doesn't do it for me.
The plot of TOTAL RECALL is okay, right up to where Schwarzenegger gets to Mars. (The plot's complicated, I'm not going to attempt to explain it.) The memory implantation stuff reminded me of the many and various SF books that deal with "sensies," or "feelies." (Movies/things that allow you to sense what the characters on the screen sense). Some poor special effects of people in a vacuum, outright ridiculousness of the ending, and the lack of believability in the story-line in general ruined it.
Rating:
What's to say? A fairly good idea for a plot, ruined by special
effects, gore, and stupidity. 1 star (*,poor) on the 1 to 4 star
scale.
Enjoyability Bleeech! When I go to a movie, I like to "immerse" myself in what's happening on the screen. Movies like STAR WARS and friends, I can believe, because it's way beyond where we're at, but is nice to think about. TOTAL RECALL on the other hand, was hard to believe in. "Aliens build air-producing reactor, that creates a perfectly breathable atmosphere in every detail for the human life form, on a planet-wide scale, in a matter of seconds, by converting old fashioned ice at the core of planet, into life-giving oxygen. This air-producing reactor hasn't been tested, and the switch to turn it on is a large ball that you put your hand into. Film at 11." Naaaah. 1 star out of 4.
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