Directed by:
Paul VerhoevenCinematography:
Jost VacanoComposer:
Jerry GoldsmithCast:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson Jr., Ray Baker, Michael Champion (more)VOD (1)
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Haunted by recurring dreams of another life on Mars, Douglas is drawn to Rekall Incorporate to implant virtual vacation memories of Mars, using a special program with the identity of a secret agent. Something goes wrong and the procedure is interrupted. The life of Douglas turns upside down, and he travels to the red planet trying to discover who he is. (StudioCanal UK)
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Reviews (10)
Sometimes all a successful sci-fi movie needs is to set the scene and intensify the music. Paul Verhoeven takes a somewhat questionable approach, unleashing his twisted taste and giving Arnold Schwarzenegger the feeling that he's acting in a cleverly packaged trick on the viewer against all the evil members of society. Nope, not like this. The blood is better suited to Robocop and the unconventional marital crisis is better suited to more open satire.
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This whole Dick adaptation has one little hitch. Namely that they didn’t cast a more restrained actor than Arnie for the main role. I like him a lot, but he doesn't really fit into the paranoid adaptation of Dick's work with his character, even though he tries his best. Otherwise, everything is as it should be. Pace, effects, direction, and vision of the future. Along with the unbeatable Blade Runner, this is clearly the best movie adaptation of P. K. Dick.
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In a nutshell, Total Recall is a great movie. I'd even go so far as to say that after Blade Runner, it's the best film adaptation of a Dick novel, this time with a superb performance by the brilliantly perverse Paul Verhoeven. His direction is dynamic and his relish in lots of blood and violence that is typical of him is irresistible in a way. The story is properly Dick-esque, dark with an ambiguous ending and that's how it should be. The visual effects are fantastic for their time and were deservedly rewarded with an Oscar. And I must not forget to highlight Jerry Goldsmith's imaginative soundtrack, which is impossible not to listen to and which is one of the best that the Master has composed. A sci-fi gem for the connoisseurs.
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I just read the sci-fi novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (Blade Runner) and all of a sudden I got the urge to brush up on some of the film adaptations of Dick’s books. However, I saw Minority Report quite recently and Paycheck not long ago too. Blade Runner is almost impossible to find these days (well, perhaps not impossible, but certainly difficult :) and Verhoeven's Total Recall seemed the only suitable candidate. I have to say, I did well because I hadn't seen it in a few years, so I was very happy. Seeing Arnold’s shooting and wisecracking again("Sue me, dickhead!" and “Consider that a divorce!" are the best) is now a balm for my soul. Then there's Sharon as the perfect (almost perfect) wife any man would want. From a story point of view, there is almost nothing to criticize, because probably no other science fiction with this kind of surfing between dream and reality has even been created. Jerry Goldsmith's music is amazingly magical, perfectly matches the overall atmosphere, and, in the end, it (might just) take a share in expressing the movie’s message.
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Paul Verhoeven keeps playing the same song and it’s not out of tune even for the umpteenth time, though the basic melody is starting to become a bit tired and boring. Total Recall is a fine wild ride with lots of blood, a brilliantly clumsy main protagonist (his facial expressions in some close-up shots are adorable) and a two-digit number when it comes to the body count. But the similarly styled music and distinctive visual signature (which doesn't always mean high quality) didn't really touch my heart in any special way. The Martian setting is overly exhibitionistic, just like the rebel leader, the woman with three breasts, the mutants, the face explosions, and similar things. The director is too over-the-top sometimes, and it's not always my cup of tea. Nevertheless, the well-executed action scenes are cool.
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