Total Recall

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2009)

In Total Recall, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) living in 2084 dreams of being a secret agent of Mars and after a trip to a facility to give him the memories of a super-spy he is thrown into the middle of interplanetary espionage as his old employers attempt to bring him to Mars to help quash an uprising by the native people.
The plot is taken from a Philip K Dick novel and is adapted to create an action film that has a clever plot with spectacular twists and turns, plus the theme of fantasy vs. reality, as we are left to decide for ourselves how much of Quaid's adventures are in his head. The action scenes are bloody but thrilling and entertaining whilst the suspense builds throughout the film, towards the impressive climax.
There are problems with the film however. It is difficult to believe in Arnie as an everyman character or indeed anything other than a murderous robot. Another problem with the film are the constant chase sequences, which at times serve no purpose other than to show off the special effects and feature unnecessary violence. The vision of the future borrows heavily from the eighties fashion and as such the look of the film is some bizarre cross between futuristic neon and vulgar 80s couture, drawing unfavourable comparisons with other Philip K Dick adaptations like Blade Runner.
Despite this, Total Recall stands out amongst other action/sci-fi films of the time, as instead of trying to dazzle the audience with over the top action, it creates a clever and well thought-out plot, with many twists and turns, as well as giving the audience something to think about after.