Arnold, Verhoeven, and Phillip K. Dick are Fine but Better Elsewhere

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2015)

There are Better Philip K. Dick Adaptations out there than this Verhoeven Film, "Blade Runner" (1982) and "Minority Report" (2002), for Example, but this Violent, Visually Impressive Movie is Not Bad. In Fact, it was Cutting Edge Miniatures and Very Early CGI that gave the Movie a very Modern Appeal in 1990.
But while the SFX still Hold-Up Today, the Plastic Make-Up, Not So Much and there is a Lot of that. It is the Make-Up that makes the Film seem Dated Today. The Movie was very Popular in its Day, and got mostly Good Reviews and made Good Money. Some of that was Due to Arnold's Box Office Appeal.
Schwarzenegger's Acting Ability is Tested in this one because of the Complicated Script and while He gives it His All, the "Thespian" Falls Short. But He must be given Credit for Bringing this Story to the Screen as it Languished for Years in Hollywood Limbo.
The Action is Intense and Bloody, the Look and Satire have a Verhoeven Sheen. But the One-Liners are Inconsistent and the Director could be Slighted for going Way Over the Top Instead of just His Usual Over the Top. The Eye Popping Scenes, for Example, go on way Too Long and are used Three Times.
Overall, the Movie is a bit Overrated and the Rubber-Head Mutants are many and feel Dated, but Enough PKDick Story Remains ("I Can Remember it for You Wholesale") to Intrigue, and the Action Delivers for those Arnold Fans and the Director's Visceral Appeal is Evident. A Fine Film but Dick's Stories, Schwarzenegger, and Verhoeven have all done Better Elsewhere.
NoteThis one is better than the 2012 Remake with Colin Farrell.