One of the best sci-fi movies ever made

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2000)

"Total Recall" is one of my all-time favorite science fiction movies. It has everything: action, humor, good performances by its cast, and spectacular special effects. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in one of his best films as a man who finds out that something's not right. He's a construction worker named Quaid, who lives on Earth and keeps having dreams about the planet Mars. He goes to a place called Rekall, where the doctors there implant their clients with memories of the most unusual but exciting sort. Quaid wants to have memories implanted that have to do with Mars. But just as he's about to take his trip, he goes berserk, and finds out that he's a victim of mind-tampering. A couple of sociopathic killers under orders from the dictator of Mars try to do him in. Quaid escapes, however, and travels to Mars to confront the evil Martian dictator as well as his hencemen. "Total Recall" is one amazing thrill ride that is spectacular to look at. The special effects are incredibly awesome. The movie deservedly won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects as a special achievement award, but I would have let it compete in the category with two other movies. If it had, I think "Total Recall" would have still won the Oscar. Schwarzenegger is terrific in one of his best roles; Ronny Cox and Michael Ironside are effective as the main bad guys (the dictator of Mars and his right-hand man); Rachel Ticotin and Sharon Stone are fetching as the women of Quaid's life (one good, the other bad). Director Paul Verhoeven knows how to direct great action, and he also knows how to work with great special effects teams. He's done a good job with sci-fi material as he has proven with two other science fiction movies that were very good: "RoboCop" and "Starship Troopers". "Total Recall" is an outstanding science fiction movie. If you like great action and great special effects along with good performances, this is a must-see.
**** (out of four)