Total Recall (1990 Film Review)

1990 TriStar Pictures
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven; Written by: Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, and Ronny Cox
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 113 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Douglas Quaid's got the life. Everyday he gets to jackhammer rocks into oblivion, then he comes home to a loving and beautiful wife. This domestic bliss isn't enough for Quaid, who dreams of a more exciting life on Mars. Quaid is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger at peak Arnold Schwazenegger, and his wife,  Lori, is played by a Sharon Stone two years away from headlining Basic Instinct. Anytime Quaid brings up Mars, Lori immediately--some would say suspiciously--shoots him down and distracts him with sex, but the big lug just can't get the red planet off his Earthling mind.
When Quaid hears that a company called Rekall can give him memories of travelling to Mars, he decides it's the next best thing to going. Considering Mars is an oxygen-starved battlezone, lorded over by a dictatorial governor named Cohaagen, it's a bit of a puzzle why anyone would want to go there, let alone remember going there. Sure enough, though, Quaid goes to Rekall so that he can believe he's been a secret agent on Mars, and sure enough, Rekall finds they can't implant those memories because Quaid's actually been a secret agent on Mars. Before you can say "Arnold Schwarzenegger," Quaid's being chased by armed, trigger-happy men, Lori's trying to kill him, and he's finding that his former identity, Hauser, has left him a message. Looks like the only way to sort things out is to go to Mars.
Paul Verhoeven directed Total Recall three years after Robocop, and five before Showgirls. He's clearly in his element here. Action scenes are visceral and violent. Bullets rip through bodies, blood spatters across the walls like some form of post-modern art, and collateral damage is high. In 1990, Total Recall was rumored to be the most expensive movie ever made, and Verhoeven's spectacular visuals certainly give the impression that no expense was spared.
The film's sets feel huge, particularly once the action heads to Mars. In this stylized, big-budget grime, Verhoeven essentially creates a new and immediately iconic aesthetic. As awesome as these visuals are, Verhoeven can't help but get trashy, though, reveling in a neon-lit brothel full of mutated prostitutes, and a Looney Tunes-inspired sequence ending in a one-liner spouting exploding prosthetic head. Still, the Dutch director manages to keep things on track, even with the insanely complex "Is this real or just a dream" twists and turns of the long-gestated screenplay, and overall, makes Total Recall feel as huge and as memorable as its epochal star.
And then there's that epochal star, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governator appears to be having the time of his life here, as he carries a bemused expression from one moment to the next, no matter what's happening. He's at the height of his charisma in Total Recall, able to carry every scene, while his insane physicality essentially allows a deus ex machina out of any problem. Arnie's character's tied up? No problem! Arnie can just flex and break the restraints! Is there a giant alien oxygen generator that can only be started by an alien hand? Arnie's hand will fit in there, too! There's no stopping him! Everyone else here is also at the top of their game, from Rachel Ticotin and Michael Ironside in supporting roles, to the set designers, to the creature-design and makeup crews, to Jost Vacano and his expansive cinematography work, to Jerry Goldsmith, who provides a bombastic score that's great by even his impeccable standards.
Get your ass to Mars!