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Total Recall
El Vengador del Futuro
USA / Mexico 1990
produced by Buzz Feitshans, Ronald Shusett, Mario Kassar (executive), Andrew G. Vajna (executive) for Carolco
directed by Paul Verhoeven
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson jr, Michael Champion, Roy Brocksmith, Ray Baker, Rosemary Dunsmore, David Knell, Alexia Robinson, Dean Norris, Mark Carlton, Debbie Lee Carrington, Lycia Naff, Robert Costanzo, Michael LaGuardia, Priscilla Allen, Ken Strausbaugh, Marc Alaimo, Michael Gregory, Ken Gildin, Mickey Jones, Parker Whitman, Ellen Gollas, Gloria Dorson, Erika Carlsson, Benny Corral, Bob Tzudiker, Erik Cord, Frank Kopyc, Chuck Sloan, Dave Nicolson, Paula McClure, Rebecca Ruth, Milt Tarver, Roger Cudney, Monica Steuer, Sasha Rionda, Linda Howell, Robert Picardo (voice)
screen story by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, screenplay by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Gary Goldman, based on the short story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick, music by Jerry Goldsmith, special effects by Rob Bottin/The Bottin Effects Crew, visual effects by Dream Quest Images, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), MetroLight Studios, Stetson Visual Services
Total Recall
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) ought to be a happy man, he has a steady
job, a nice apartment, a loving wife, Lori (Sharon Stone) - and yet he has
this recurring dream of walking the Martian surface with a lovely brunette
(Rachel Ticotin), but ultimately dying there when his protective suit
rips. So in his waking hours, he's obsessed with Mars, even without ever
having been there, and he wants to go there, despite the political
instability on the planet. But since Lori's dead-set against it, that's
out of the question - until Quaid learns about the Rekall Corporation,
which sells memories of vacations one hasn't even been on, meaning Quaid
will feel as if he has been there, at a much lower price than the actual
voyage, and without all the inconveniences that come with such a trip.
Quaid books such a trip, but when he's about to be implanted the memories,
something goes horribly wrong, he flees from Rekall headquarters, and
suddenly gunmen, led by sinister Richter (Michael Ironside) are after him.
And when he wants to hide out at home, he has to find out that Lori
actually wants to kill him and seems to be in league with the gunmen.
Ultimately though, when he overcomes her, she gives him part of the story
behind everything: He is not Quaid at all but Hauser, a leader of the
Martian rebellion - and former spy for Martian leader Cohaagen (Ronny Cox)
- who has been brainwashed into being Quaid and given her as a wife (of
whom all memories are fake) only six weeks ago. And the gunmen after him
are Coohagen's men who want Quaid back for something locked in his
memories. Quaid somehow shakes all of his pursuers, and with the help of a
mystery man, he gets a few clues that lead him to Mars, and to a brothel
where one of the girls, Melina (Rachel Ticotin) is his contact - and yes,
Melina is the girl from his dreams. However, the first meeting with Melina
doesn't go according to plan, as she fails to trust Hauser in his new
persona - but later she saves his ass from Richter and company and leads
him to the rebels and their leader Kuato, a mutant growing out of the
belly of another man (Marshall Bell) who unlocks part of the memories
buried beneath the Quaid persona, apparently he has found an alien reactor
that's capable of flooding all of (outside) Mars with breathable air -
something Cohaagen's dead afraid of as he owns all the Martian domes and
has put heavy taxes on air as such. But as long as he owns the air, he can
keep the rebellion managable and make huge profits from the mining
goldmine that's Mars. But as soon as Quaid learns all of this, Cohaagen's
henchmen invade and pretty much eradicate the rebellion, safe Quaid and
Melina. Turns out Hauser has never really been a rebel leader, just
infiltrated the rebellion, but then had his brain washed to as Quaid lead
Cohaagen and company to rebel HQ and annihilate the rebels once and for
all. And seems he has succeeded. But Quaid is shocked about what his alter
ego has made him do, but it seems to be too late already, as he's about to
be brain-unwashed to be Hauser again. Thing is, Hauser's new persona Quaid
doesn't like Hauser very much and would very much like to stay himself,
and maybe save Mars from Cohaagen's iron grip. But wanting and succeeding
are two different things ... Above all else, Total Recall
is fun: It's loud, it's effects and action heavy, there's many a chase and
shoot-out, the violence is often over-the-top in a comicbook sort of way,
and so are quite some of the special effects. But that's not to say the
film is just another dumb star vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger - in
fact, the premise of the movie is quite intelligent and original, as are
many of the plottwists, and the play with different layers of reality is
actually quite fascinating. And director Paul Verhoeven really gets more
out of the film on a visual level as well than to make this just another
shoot-em-up, infusing the movie with many quirks and details one has come
to expect from the director. Now the question remains, has the film
stood the test of time? In my honest opinion, no - but that's part of the
charm of Total Recall, it's clearly a child of its time, when a man
was still a man, fire was still fought with fire, shoot-outs and oneliners
went hand-in-hand, action was loud and bloody, and things didn't need to
be just grim to work - and I'm not saying that all of these are good
things, nor that things were better back then (they weren't), I'm just
saying this film is a clear trip down nostalgia lane - which goes down to
the special effects that were great for their time but betray the era too
readily. And for all that, a pretty cool watch - if you like
yesteryear's blockbusters.
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