Review of Total Recall (1990) by Rameshwar N — 17 Apr 2012

So much fun to be had from this. The plot and its execution is edging on being preposterous but it is sometimes good to see the imaginations running wild while putting logic in the backseat. I don't think the spy element of Arnold's character is put to best use but it works. Its richly packed with all elements that is needed to reach out to the masses - physical comedy, sexy women, power packed action, huge budget. Though it does not come without flaws which I hope the new version addresses.

Set in the future where Mars is colonized and their is technical capabilities of erasing a portion of brain and replacing with custom content. Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a construction worker who keeps getting dreams about a life in Mars and images of a brunette companion while he is happily married to a beautiful blond woman (Sharon Stone). After he tries to take a virtual vacation by planting custom memory in his brain, things start to get out of control as people try to kill him, he finds the life he was leading was a setup and he is hungry for answers.

I have to say, Sharon Stone never looked more beautiful than she does in this movie. I felt there could have been a better choice of who plays the character Melina. Another aspect that misses the plot is the Quaid character does not have the panache or smoothness of a spy which by the teasers the new version seems to have addressed. What works in this movie is the blinding pace of screenplay that will not allow you to sit and judge its innumerable loopholes during its runtime and finally what you have is an entertaining 'Arnold' action movie full of macho action and cheesy lines.

A plot line with excellent potential. Delivers expected entertainment, but was it dealt in the best possible way? I don't think so.