Who am I?

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2005)

Before this movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger had shown his impressive acting abilities by playing a killer cyborg, a barbarian, a commando, a marine, and Hercules. In "Total Recall", he actually plays a character that goes against type: he's a regular guy, albeit one with the physique of a Mr. Universe, who is thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
Or is he? That's the central question of "Total Recall", and we're left wondering throughout the movie what Ah-nold's real identity is (I won't spoil any surprises here). It's a fantastic sci-fi set-up, especially when you throw the main setting of Mars into the mix.
The plot: Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Douglas Quaid, a construction worker in the year 2084 who's been having weird dreams about living on Mars. There's a mystery woman in his dreams, a brunette, who sparks jealousy in his wife (played by Sharon Stone, who's also pretty good in this; it's one of the earliest things I remember seeing her in). Quaid sees an ad for a place called Rekall, which implants vacations in people's memories that are as good as the real thing. So he goes to Rekall, gets a memory-vacation package for Mars where he plays the part of a spy and that includes the woman in his dreams, and that's when things go haywire.
This is where the central mystery of who Schwarzenegger really is starts. All of a sudden, he's thrust into a complex story of some rebels on Mars trying to overcome their ruthless dictator Cohaagen, and he's a central part of the story. Here's where it gets twisty: it comes into question whether he's actually Douglas Quaid or this spy named Hauser who's involved in the whole thing! All of a sudden, his wife and friends turn against him, he's on the run from Cohaagen's lieutenant Richter (played by Michael Ironside) and (on the advice of himself, as Hauser) he must make his way to Mars, where he gets embroiled in a plot to help the rebels, mostly a bunch of mutants. They are led by Kuato, a psychic mutant coming out of the abdomen of a fellow named George (Marshall Bell). And his dream girl also comes into the picture in the person of Melina (Rachel Ticotin, who's fabulous), who's also trying to help the rebels. Always on your mind as you're watching this movie is the question: What's real, and what's merely a mind-implant? Is the whole movie from the point he visited Rekall a dream, or was the life he knew the dream? And also coming into the play is the question of whose side Hauser is actually supposed to be on, and what this reactor built by the original Martians a million years ago is supposed to do, exactly...
Based on the story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" by the great Philip K. Dick (who also wrote the story "Blade Runner" was based on), and directed by Paul Verhoeven ("Robocop"), "Total Recall" is consistently thrilling and amazing, with some incredible visuals, including the barren surface of the planet Mars, and the station where the residents of Mars are housed. Of course, it's a great action movie. There's also a lot of great humor (including a mutant hooker with three breasts), terrific special effects, and constant plot twists throughout (unlike many other Schwarzenneger films, this one makes you think). This movie is easily one of the best Schwarzenegger has ever done (he actually puts in a decent acting job, probably his best ever), and also one of the best sci-fi thrillers ever made. The ending, though it stretches credibility, is a brilliant, old-time sci-fi ending.