"Looks like we got another schizoid embolism!"

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2016)

Keeping track of Quaid/Hauser's dual identity didn't turn out to be as difficult as I thought it would be. Usually time travel stories and ones about identity switches come with an element of confusion, but if you stay focused, you'll be able to get through this one alright. The main plot point you have to keep in mind is that Quaid found out his life on Earth was a fake when a trip to Rekall occurred AFTER he already had a false memory implanted in his brain on Mars. You can see how anybody could make that mistake.
Well this was a decent enough sci-fi flick, but the mystery for me would be how anyone could watch this more than ten times like one of the reviewers did here. I thought that was pretty stunning until I caught another review by a guy who says he saw it over a HUNDRED times!!! Personally, I couldn't handle that kind of punishment.
The special effects for the film didn't seem to be too bad for 1990, especially those huge earth movers with the revolving rotors, those were some nasty bad boys. I don't know that I could say the same for some of the mutant make-up; that Kuato chest burster thingy looked like a reject from one of the Chucky movies. And man oh man, Schwarzenneger himself had some of the goofiest facial contortions I've ever seen, and I'm not talking about the CGI'd ones. Oh yeah, and the Thumbelina character (Debbie Lee Carrington), I'd like to think she epitomized the idea of dynamite in a small package. She was pretty cool.
Anyway, I won't be watching this a hundred times, ten times, or even one more time because once was enough for me. What I'd really like to see is someone come up with an invention that allows you to completely remember any movie you've ever seen at the mere mention of the title. They could call it Instant Recall.