TOTAL RECALL
A film review by B. Keen
Copyright 1996 B. Keen
Carolco pictures and Dutch director Paul Verhoeven (ROBOCOP) came together to create the 1990 mega hit that is TOTAL RECALL. The film is a masterpiece of sets, action, and special effects. Action and science fiction just don't get any better than this!
The story involves a construction worker named Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who lives on Earth with his beautiful wife Lori (Sharon Stone). Quaid is obsessed with Mars and decides to go with the second best choice; a brain implant (fake memory) of a two week vacation on Mars. While being implanted a memory cap is triggered and the doctors realize that Quaid's memory has previously been erased. Now the people who did it are after him. Quaid must find out who he really is and why these people want him dead. The plot unfolds at a rapid pace explaining itself through great action, special effects, and twist after mind-boggling twist. It grabs you and never lets go!
This film is a winner from beginning to end. The plot is superb; combining the best elements of science fiction and psychological mystery to create a rip-roaring saga. Schwarzenegger gives his best performance ever, and the supporting cast is good too. The action and stunts are terrific. The sets are huge and elaborate with a lot of attention payed to detail. The music and sound effects are perfect for the film and really add a certain level of impact to the action. The make-up effects by Rob Bottin (THE HOWLING, THE THING, and ROBOCOP) are top notch, not to mention extremely outlandish. The visual effects by Dream Quest (THE ABYSS) and Industrial Light and Magic (STAR WARS TRILOGY, JURASSIC PARK, and TERMINATOR 2) are phenomenal! The visuals had such a state of the art "slickness" that they won an Oscar. Of course the film isn't always realistic; it's more fiction than science. For example, it is true that a body won't explode in the vacuum of space but in TOTAL RECALL they do. Who cares? It's a movie. Movies are supposed to entertain. And in my opinion this film achieves an entertainment level in film that is so terrific, it may be impossible to beat.
10 out of 10
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