REVIEW: Total Recall (Released in 1990) [30th Anniversary Review]

DIRECTOR: Paul Verhoeven

PRODUCERS: Buzz Feitshans & Ronald Shusett

WRITERS: Don O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett & Gary Goldman & Jon Povill

PERFORMERS: Arnold Schwarzenegger Rachel Ticotin Sharon Stone Michael Ironside

and Ronny Cox

Some short stories make the best movies ever made, this was one of them. Once again, Phillip K. Dick proves that dreams and reality sometimes don't mix, but when you involve a person's mind being stolen and implanted with another it's a different conversation. This is a film that I have watched literally since childhood and yes, one of my most memorable as well. this one. For it's 30th Anniversary, this is my take on the classic Sci-Fi action thriller that broke the rules, set the tone for Science-Fiction and kept audiences scratching their heads even after all was said and done.

Set in 2084 (54 years from now), a construction worker (Schwarzenegger) pays for a virtual vacation to the colonized red planet Mars, only to discover that his present life is a false reality and goes on the run when he becomes targeted by the head of the corporation (Ronny Cox) who supposedly steals his mind and sends his top lieutenant (Michael Ironside, in one his most brilliant performances) after him. What's so interesting about this plot is that you don't know what's happening behind the curtains except what's in front of you. But what you see is what you get, especially with this flick. Schwarzenegger's performance as a confused man is very convincing, so convincing in fact that it's easy see how this film was able to succeed with his participation. He plays not one, but two parts: one good and one evil and the difference is that their both the same person. I remember being extremely confused myself when I saw Quaid watching a previously recorded message from his other self telling him everything. But the whole roller coaster ride started when the Rekall situation happened. The procedure begins, something happens, they send him home and the next you know you're thinking 'what's going on? Is this a fake simulation or is this really happening?' Then people he knows start turning on him and you're taken on this journey with him as he unravels the mystery of the shattering reality surrounding him, or so we think we are. The question is what are you really thinking?

There's a difference between dreams and reality they say, but it all starts with the mind. Is this really happening or is it a simulation of a made up reality? One of the few things about this film that gets me is the way it picks up from sequence to the next and it never lets up. The settings are amazingly futurized and bleak, so bleak that you think someone is implanting an idea in your head to go there. Also, the effects are completely believable and 100% practical. Nothing about this film is cheesy nor fake. For example, when Quaid meets Kuato, who is a psychic and a mutant, he turns out to be the other half of the rebel leader played by Marshall Bell. As hideous as it may look, it's also a believable scene because of it's realism behind the effects required to pull it off. Rob Bottin had recently worked with director Paul Verhoeven on the enormously successful futuristic actioner 'RoboCop' and this I think only took the department of effects both pupettering and makeup to greater heights. The writing in this film is also just so great that the more you follow the plot, the more it transitions from one thing to the next. You're caught up in the story and as it progresses, everything changes. You're waiting for a resolution even when the conflict is settled.

Verhoeven's direction in this film is such a masterful aspect of this film because it drives the film to be this high velocity ride you go on and it doesn't stop until the end. Since the success of 'RoboCop', Verhoeven has gone above and beyond the very style of Action and Science-Fiction and when this film came calling, there was no doubt he was destined to make it. Despite the over the top violence and a few explicit moments, it's hard to ignore a classic like this considering it's an adapted screenplay based on an original short story. After all, this was back in the day when Schwarzenegger was in his prime as one of the world's top actors so it was hard to ignore films like this. The chemistry between Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger made this film the golden gem it was and still is today. The music by the late great composer Jerry Goldsmith has always been a rare gem for me because it elevates the film in every way possible. Even now to this day I still own the CD to the soundtrack of this film, in the Deluxe version released in the early 2000s! Goldsmith's music score was my second favorite thing about this film, thirty years on it hasn't aged a day!

In Conclusion, 'Total Recall' is one of those films that one would describe as a Totally wild ride. Sometimes the craziest ride is the one ride you never forget. You'll never forget this ride because it's mind boggling, it's life shattering and it's an experience beyond expectations. Wen I was in mysenior year in High School I took a class on film observation and my teacher at the time taught us something about what to expect in certain films. The topic was "Suspension of Disbelief", we watched this one film I don't remember what it was but he metioned something about the difference between anticipation and expectation, ever since then it has not left me and almost every film I see with one or several plots (such as this one) has actually left an impression on me. Looking back now 30 years later, having watched it previously a few weeks ago I gained a rather new perspective on it: Suspension of disbelief can get you to buy into anything. One thing leads to another and pretty soon, all bets are off. Happy 30th Anniversary to 'Total Recall' and here's to 30 years of a totally great film with Total Action, Total Suspense and Total Surprises! #filmsof1990 #TotalRecall30 #30thAnniversary #AnniversaryFilmReviews