Review of Total Recall (1990) by Rainer K — 01 Aug 2012

I've yet to see a bad film based on a work of Philip K. Dick and Total Recall (the original version) is no exception to this impressive streak.

Sometimes it's lucky coincidence when the production doesn't turn out as some of the producers would have wanted it to be. It seems like the film should have been a mindless action blockbuster and you can easily see how everyone tried to trim down the social criticism and the philosophical aspects to a level suitable for the masses but it just can't yield its origin - the mind of Philip K. Dick, one of the most daring, philosophical and imaginative writers of the century.

So what you get is a sometimes disturbing mix of a decent action blockbuster with nice visual effects and just enough gore to feed the masses and a critical undertone that couldn't get rid off no matter how hard they tried. I prefer the latter in films so for me it was somehow a mess - a pretty entertaining mess though.

It's also highly influential - not only its themes but also visually. It's also one of the earlier examples of excessive product placement in a film (I found this quite funny actually - some of it was quite amateurish...).

In short, it's not surprising that a Bourne Identity in Outer Space flick based on a Dick novel with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the main role (who hasn't the dramatic chops for the more sophisticated parts of the film imo - but he naturally does pretty well in the action scenes) ended up a bit disjointed and aimless. I hope the new one will succeed in concentrating more on Dick's work and its critical themes - otherwise it'll probably end up like this one - a shitload of lost potential.