Movie ReWatch: Total Recall (4K Edition)

Image Source: https://www.amazon.com/Total-Recall-Anniversary-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B08HPHL4JB

Total Recall (1990) is a science fiction movie from the 90s that I absolutely enjoy — not as much as other classic science fiction movies of the era (Aliens, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, etc.), but it is a fun romp through the mind of Phillip K. Dick, an author who I’ve not actually read all that much off, but would like to emulate in the manner of having multiple short stories picked up and turned into movies. I’ve not yet done a collection of my stories, but at 10+ published stories, I do have a fair amount that I could turn into a collected volume. I think that might become a summer project for Summer 2025, but I digress — Total Recall is a fun movie with some issues, but overall I enjoyed the experience of rewatching it last weekend.

Classic Arnold

One of the reasons why I like this movie so much is that it is “classic Arnold,” meaning that, even though Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t giving T2 or Conan the Barbarian like performance, there’s still enough energy and verve in the character and performance that makes me want to root for the character of Quaid. It’s almost like his Running Man movies, but an increase in charisma, characterization, and overall performance really make me believe in the movie’s central conceit: he isn’t who he thinks he is. I don’t want to casually spoil the movie (even though it is on the older side), but the way that the filmmakers use the “amnesia” plot line is masterful and really adds to the tension of the story — and, too me, Arnold’s acting sells it. While I like movies like T2 and True Lies better in terms of performance, most of the time I stop seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger and see Quaid in the movie–unlike in some of Arnold’s other movies from the era (looking at you Commando and Eraser).

Great Science Fiction

Another thing that I like about the movie is that there is a great level of science fiction and speculative fiction on display. Having the movie set on Earth and Mars was awesome to me when I originally saw the movie as a teenager/college age person. While some of the visions of the cars, outfits, and other ideas (like passenger space travel to other planets) hasn’t come through yet, you can still see elements of commentary about current American society in the 90s reflected in the setting and themes of the movie. While its take on “self-driving taxis” isn’t a reality, it does at least hint at the Waymo and other automated vehicle as taxi idea. The same is true tracking and surveillance and similar technologies. While many public places now rely on metal detectors, I’ve always thought that weapon detection system, such as the one implemented in the movie, would be highly effective AND would sidestep the issue of “privacy” (simple skeletons on a background is much less “creepy” that our current machines that peer beneath clothing, but the goal of both — preventing unauthorized weapons in public places — is still maintained).

Image Source: https://theasc.com/articles/total-recall-x-ray-effectsViolence and “Creepiness” Factor

The only real problem that I have with the movie is the level of violence in some instances and the “creepiness” that pervades some of the scenes — the three breasted harlot being one such example. While not nearly as bad in terms of violence as Robocop or the leeriness and toxic girlfriend/boyfriend dynamic found in Starship Troopers, I find that — on the whole — I just don’t mesh with the director’s — Paul Verhoeven — sensibilities when it comes to satire. Total Recall, like Robocop and Starship Troopers take a satirical look at the world (specifically America) and this just isn’t as appealing to me as the actually concepts of space travel, landing on new worlds, dealing with aliens or robots, and other tropes of the sci-fi genre. In other words, I like Verhoeven and think he’s at his best in his movies when dealing with the sci-fi tropes and his characters trying to survive, but am turned off and/or less interested when he turns to satire and pumps up the violence/sex factor of the stories — including this one. I can respect what he does (unlike Shaun of the Dead for which my disdain is palpable), but the satirical elements just lower my interest whenever they overwhelm the narrative.

Overall

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I give this movie a strong 4 star/4.5 star review. I really enjoy watching it (and rewatching it). I’ve seen this film countless times, probably more than 10, but less than 25 times) since it first released — I’d watch it whenever I saw it on cable, so I’ve seen it probably 5-10 times whenever it was on HBO and/or other networks that showed movies with commercials on cable tv (like USA Network). I really enjoy it and loved the other performers in it who weren’t Arnold. I think (selfishly) that Hollywood should think about adapting more short stories as they might make stories that are well suited to 2 hour mark. There are a LOT of us short story writers out here AND they’re published stories too, meaning that while there’s no guarantee that they’ll make successful movies like this one, for a risk adverse Hollywood Executive, there is a level of “gate-keeping” that publication can provide. I know I’m howling in the wind, but there’s a whole raft of stories just waiting for their time to shine on the big screen — novels aren’t the only places where good storytelling happens.

Just saying.

SidneyCurrently Working On (September 2024)CreativeThe Runner (2023 Revision) (Fantasy Story: 4100 words: 17 Submissions)
Status:  Out (Out to Publisher)Finalist in the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award Contest Finalist in the LeVar Burton Reads Origins & Encounters Writing ContestDire (2024) (Fantasy Short Story: 5100 words: 1 Submission)
Status: Out (Out to Publisher–Contest–No Response — 125 out of 139 days, story not among finalists), Out (Out to Publisher — new publisher).Scholarly How Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura Inspired the African American Female Character in Science Fiction (Chapter 3)
Space, the Feminist Frontier: Essays on Sex and Gender in Star Trek
Status: Published!Unnamed Book Chapter
Status:  In-Progress