825. Total Recall

Total Recall
1990
Directed by Paul Verhoeven

I wouldn't say that I was a fan of Schwarzenegger, but I find myself always enjoying his movies.  Maybe I am harboring a secret crush.  A scary thought.

In the year 2084, Douglas Quaid is an "ordinary" construction worker, because normal people have wives as hot as Sharon Stone and have Fezzik-esque strength.  He frequently dreams of Mars and a strange woman who, in typical Schwarzenegger fashion, is not his wife.  He goes to Rekall, which is a company that implants memories of vacations, in order to live out his Mars fantasy as a secret agent.  Soon, it becomes unclear whether he is simply experiencing his fantasy, or if he is actually a secret agent whose memory was erased.

It is fun to try to work out what was real and what was fake, but overall this film doesn't demand that much cerebral analysis.  I suppose it does make an interesting statement about escapism, but overall it is simply an entertaining action movie, with cool (and sometimes gross) special effects.  It certainly serves as a nice break from the cheerful tales of Henry Lee Lucas and Edward Scissorhands.

We can still look forward to Schwarzenegger in T2 and I can further analyze my bizarre feelings.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

One of the first Hollywood films to use CGI.

Body count of 77.