Total Recall (1990) Mind-Bending Edition Blu-Ray Review

Rated R

Running Time: 1 Hour & 53 Minutes

Cast-

Arnold Schwarzenegger-Douglas Quaid/Hauser

Sharon Stone-Lori Quaid

Rachel Ticotin-Melina

Ronny Cox-Vilos Cohaagen

Michael Ironside-Richter

Roy Brocksmith-Dr. Edgemar

Mel Johnson Jr.-Benny

Marshall Bell-George/Kuato (voice)

Ray Baker-Bob McClane

Rosemary Dunsmore-Dr. Renata Lull

Michael Champion-Helm

Robert Costanzo-Harry

Debbie Lee Carrington-Thumbelina

Lycia Naff-Mary/Three-Breasted Prostitute

Directed by Paul Verhoeven

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in 1990's "Total Recall," one of the best science fiction/action films of the last twenty years.

Before Christopher Nolan's "Inception" toyed with audiences' minds and made them wonder whether it was all a dream, there was Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall." The first time I saw a Paul Verhoeven film was 1987's "RoboCop" and even though it was clearly inappropriate for my age due to the extreme graphic violence, I remember enjoying every minute of it. Watching the titular character bust up a cocaine operation and gunning down dozens of armed men with his modified Beretta 93R while Basil Poledouris' bombastic score blared in the background left a smile on my five-year-old face. It's a cinematic memory that I will always fondly look back to so thank you for that, Mr. Verhoeven! Unfortunately, Verhoeven's career took a sizable hit when his NC-17 rated film "Showgirls" was released in 1995 and received overwhelmingly negative reviews with 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. Filled with gratuitous full-frontal nudity and numerous simulated sex scenes, "Showgirls" was the epitome of 'so-bad-it's good' and went on to achieve cult status on home video despite being heralded as one cinema's worst. Since then, Verhoeven has tried to recover from his critical misfire but 1996's "Starship Troopers" and 2000's "Hollow Man" are pale imitations of his best work, although 2006's "Black Book" managed to garner positive reviews, the best the director has had since "Basic Instinct" in 1992. Loosely based upon the 1966 Philip K. Dick short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, 1990's "Total Recall" contains all of Verhoeven's trademarks and combined with the star-power of Arnold Schwarzenegger, this gleefully violent and thought-provoking film remains a wildly entertaining science fiction classic twenty-two years after its release. 

Taking place in the year 2084, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a lowly construction worker living a humdrum existence with his beautiful wife Lori (Sharon Stone). However, he is constantly troubled by dreams of Mars and a mysterious woman living there. Under the control of Governor Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox), the colony on Mars is currently embroiled in a conflict between his corporate security forces and a group of mutant freedom fighters led by a man named 'Kuato' (Marshall Bell). There are also rumors that an alien artifact has been found deep within the turbinium ore mines. Despite the warnings of his co-worker and friend Harry (Robert Costanzo), Quaid decides to pay a visit to Rekall Incorporated, a company that specializes in memory implants that gives its clients experiences of fabulous vacations. He opts for the two-week 'Mars Package' with an optional espionage component but before the technicians can implant the memories, Quaid violently reacts while being sedated and claims that they have blown his cover. One of the technicians reveals that there are signs of his memory having been erased. After re-sedating Quaid, the company salesperson decides to destroy his file and wipe his memory of his visit to Rekall before sending him home in an automated taxi. Waking up disoriented and confused, Quaid runs into a group of co-workers, including Harry, but they suddenly corner and attack him. After killing them all, he returns home to find Lori pulling a gun on him and claiming that their marriage is a sham as a result of false memory implants. Quaid manages to knock her out and escapes into the city while evading a group of armed thugs under the command of Richter (Michael Ironside), a subordinate of Cohaagen and the true lover of Lori. Staying at a dingy motel, Quaid is contacted by a strange man who leaves a suitcase by a phone booth for him. Escaping to an abandoned building, he investigates the suitcase and finds a video of himself under the name of 'Hauser.' Formerly in the employ of Cohaagen, Hauser discloses to Quaid that he wiped his own memory in order to protect his knowledge about the alien artifact located deep in the mines. The video also tells Quaid to get to Mars if he wants to learn the truth about who he is. Arriving on Mars, Quaid soon falls in with the freedom fighters and meets Melina (Rachel Ticotin), Hauser's former lover. He battles Cohaagen to free the colony from his iron grip but at the back of his mind, Quaid wonders whether what he is experiencing is real…or an elaborate delusion of his own making. 

While being held captive by Cohaagen with Melina, an impressed Quaid remarks to the governor that his plan was 'the best mind-f*ck yet'; I can think of no better way to describe "Total Recall." Although the script from writers Ronald Shusett and Dan O'Bannon (with Gary Goldman and Jon Povill also contributing) is relatively straightforward as it chronicles one man's search for his identity, what really makes this film the sci-fi classic it is today is Verhoeven's mixture of sardonic social satire with a dash of ambiguity. It's themes of class warfare and extreme capitalism help turn this special effects-driven blockbuster into a surprisingly thought-provoking experience.  Like "RoboCop," the future depicted in "Total Recall" is a corporate dystopia where the very air you breathe is restricted unless you pay up. The Mars colony is a self-contained dome due to the hospitable atmosphere but because Cohaagen's only concern is on reaping the profits of turbinium ore mining, he does not care about the populace suffering horrible mutations and deformities from inadequate radiation shielding, resulting in open rebellion as Kuato's freedom fighters wage a guerilla war against the governor's corporate security forces. However, is all this really happening or does it only exists in Quaid's mind? This is the central question that the film asks but no concrete answers are provided. There are clues littered in every scene but the joy in unraveling this mystery comes from the viewer being allowed to form their own conclusions on what is or isn't real. This dichotomy of fantasy and reality is what gives "Total Recall" near-infinite replay value and the film's enormous success lies not in its intriguing concepts but in the fact that it dares to be ambiguous. 

As this is still a summer blockbuster, Verhoeven does what he does best by going over-the-top with the violence. You can almost picture the director with a big smile on his face as he gleefully relishes in all the exaggerated blood and gore. Hell, just look at the giant bullet holes riddled across Quaid's unlucky human shield when he finds himself trapped by Richter's thugs on an escalator. Even Thumbelina (Debbie Lee Carrington), the midget prostitute, gets to join in on the fun when she jumps on top of a bar table and begins blasting away at Cohaagen's men with a submachine gun! I was grinning ear-to-ear at all the sheer mayhem, the type that only Verhoeven excels in. The visuals are incredibly striking even though it was accomplished without the aid of CG, with the exception of the X-Ray scene. A year later, James Cameron's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" would revolutionize the way movies were made by pushing the use of CG by leaps and bounds. Many of the effects relied on miniatures and good old-fashion make-up from Rob Bottin, whose work became famous in John Carpenter's "The Thing" from 1982. Who could forget Quaid's trip to Venusville and his encounter with Mary (Lycia Naff), the three-breasted prostitute? Sure, it looks dated now but that's exactly what lends "Total Recall" its charm; it just wouldn't be the same if the effects were replaced with the high-tech gloss of modern CG. Jerry Goldsmith also does an amazing job composing the score by perfectly evoking a sense of adventure, action, and mystery. 

The performances are actually quite good for an action film with such a cheeky sense of humor. Arnold Schwarzenegger was never all that great of an actor but he makes up for it with an irresistible screen presence and charisma. Despite being built like an ox for a blue-collar worker, Schwarzenegger's Douglas Quaid is surprisingly sympathetic as he grapples with the dilemma of who he really is while throwing cheesy one-liners like 'Consider that a divorce!' Ronny Cox and Michael Ironside are suitably despicable as the main villains while Sharon Stone exudes sex appeal as Quaid's faux wife Lori. As the main love interest to Quaid, Rachel Ticotin is fine but she pales in comparison to Stone. The film may take place in the future but it's ironic to see these two actresses dress in 80's style clothing. 

Previously released on Blu-Ray back in 2006, "Total Recall" is being re-released in an all-new 'Mind-Bending' edition that features a superior high definition transfer approved by Verhoeven. It's not exactly demo material but I was impressed with the amount of detail, especially in close-ups. The opening dream sequence on Mars is a stunner, although there are some scenes which look ill-defined such as the drilling machines that pop up from time to time. Some of the effects may sound hollow but the energetic audio track allows the film to come alive with an abundance of gunfire and explosions. Even amidst Goldsmith's bombastic score, dialogue remains sharp. Special features include an audio commentary with Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger, a half-hour documentary on the making of the film, plus a number of exclusives such as a retrospective with Verhoeven and a look at the extensive visual effects utilized by the crew. 

"Total Recall" was released on June 1, 1990 to largely positive reviews with a current score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics hailed it as 'a fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and humor that never slacks.' Roger Ebert even went so far as to call the film 'one of the most complex and visually interesting science fiction movies in a long time.' "Total Recall" was one of the most expensive films made at the time with an estimated $65 million production budget but it went on to become a box office success, grossing $261 million worldwide or $459 million when adjusted for inflation. With its blend of violent thrills and smart story-telling, "Total Recall" is the type of action film that Hollywood sadly does not make anymore. This isn't just a Schwarzenegger classic but a classic through and through!

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

"A man is defined by his actions, not his memory."