Total Recall

Today I felt like watching something from the work of my long-time favorite director, and when I realized that I hadn't yet written a review for the movie that, along with RoboCop and James Cameron's Terminator series, completely captivated me at the beginning of the nineties. I was obsessed with action movies back then, and this quartet repeatedly brought me joy. I admit that this classic has noticeably aged (but compared to me, it still looks great), so the action sequences and special effects fell short of today's standards, to the point of being hilarious at times. Still, it didn't spoil the experience for me in any way. Paul Verhoeven's style of filmmaking resonates with me, so his cerebral excursion combined with an interplanetary trip still entertained me after thirty years. If I changed my original rating, I would be a hypocrite because I still really liked it today, I had fun, and I could reminisce about some exciting (and wild) times. When I compare it, for example, to a movie like Tenet... / Lesson learned: More of a reflection this time: Is it possible that the Recall company actually exists? There has been a strange increase in cases of women who remember what happened five, ten, or twenty years ago. It makes you wonder. (06/17/2023)

The 1990s brought a lot of good things (like me :-D), but this sci-fi is not one of them, at least for me. Terrible sets (even sci-fi from previous years had a much better idea of the future), a story that really scrapes, music that likely didn't even make it to my ears. The only plus is Arnold's accent... Unfortunately, this cult didn't enchant me and left me cold. But definitely check it out – if there’s at least two of you – it will bring a little education. :-) (09/05/2010)

It might be the best known, but it’s certainly one of Verhoeven's weaker films in terms of craftsmanship. In particular, the passage set on Earth is very stylistically bland and, as an intro to a bloody space carnage with a western-like structure, it feels a bit like a shy virgin next to Robert Rosenberg. Fortunately, there is an original story with a generous quantity of gradually dosed twists, a lot of convincing old-school effects, even more action, and most of all Arnold, who’s simply amazing in a role that underlines his golden Hollywood period. Some of the moments (and there more than a few) are too reminiscent of certain B-movie gems from the lower leagues of filmmaking in their technical execution and dysfunctional rustic logic, but there’s no other film I’d be more willing to forgive for that. Oldies Goldies. (04/07/2012)

In a nutshell, Total Recall is a great movie. I'd even go so far as to say that after Blade Runner, it's the best film adaptation of a Dick novel, this time with a superb performance by the brilliantly perverse Paul Verhoeven. His direction is dynamic and his relish in lots of blood and violence that is typical of him is irresistible in a way. The story is properly Dick-esque, dark with an ambiguous ending and that's how it should be. The visual effects are fantastic for their time and were deservedly rewarded with an Oscar. And I must not forget to highlight Jerry Goldsmith's imaginative soundtrack, which is impossible not to listen to and which is one of the best that the Master has composed. A sci-fi gem for the connoisseurs. (09/28/2003)

Sometimes, all a successful sci-fi movie needs is to set up the scenery and intensify the music. Verhoeven takes a somewhat questionable approach, unleashing his twisted taste and giving Arnie the feeling that he is playing a cleverly packaged game against all the evil members of society. No, this is not the way. Blood fits in Robocop, and dealing with an unconventional marital crisis fits in a more open satire. (07/02/2005)