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Total Recall (1990)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:31
Rotten:8
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Under Paul Verhoeven's frenetic direction, Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, gore, and humor that never slacks.
Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as Quaid, a 2084 construction worker haunted by dreams of Mars in this crowd-pleasing science fiction spectacle. Against the wishes of his sexy blonde wife... Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as Quaid, a 2084 construction worker haunted by dreams of Mars in this crowd-pleasing science fiction spectacle. Against the wishes of his sexy blonde wife (Sharon Stone), Quaid goes to Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories, so he can "remember" visiting the red planet that is now being settled by human inhabitants. However, Quaid is actually an amnesiac secret agent from Mars--or is he? Enemy agents led by a thug named Richter (Michael Ironside) start trying to kill him before Quaid remembers anything more. Bullets and bone-crunching mayhem follow in large doses as Quaid heads to Mars to deal with mutants, ancient alien races, and Cohagen (Ronny Cox), a greedy capitalist controlling the colonists' air supply, in an effort to remember his real identity. TOTAL RECALL is based on the story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick and was a big box-office hit, helping to firmly establish director Paul Verhoeven as a specialist in darkly satiric, blood-drenched genre films. His next stop: BASIC INSTINCT, also with Stone. [More]
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson, Michael Champion, Roy Brocksmith, Ray Baker, Rosemary Dunsmore, David Knell
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Story: Philip K. Dick, Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill
Screenwriter: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Gary Goldman
Producer: Buzz Feitshans, Ronald Shusett
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Reviews for Total Recall
Say what you will about Verhoeven's penchant for extravagant theatrics, when he's not yanking the arms off people or putting bullets in their forehead, he tells a good story.
The fierce and unrelenting pace, accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek strain of humor in the roughhouse screenplay, keeps the film moving like a juggernaut.
Perhaps it goes without saying that Total Recall is no The Terminator, but let the records show.
You'd think by the year 2084 villains would have learned they shouldn't mess with Mr. Biceps. But no-o-o-o.
...one of the best action flicks to emerge out of Hollywood in the '90s (or ever, really).
Recall is full of the musclebound action that [Schwarzenegger's] fans presumably enjoy. It also means that this Mars-bound movie is violent, nasty and expensive (it cost Tri-Star well over $60 million).
[A] well paced, entertaining and thought-provoking piece of science fiction cinema, a truly superb, yet disregarded gem of that particular genre.
Neither Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Paul Verhoeven have stretched their talents here.
Verhoeven keeps the whole thing chugging along neatly with a huge dollop of ultra-violence and gore. Schwarzenegger is at his best ever.
Melding the ever-more-workable Schwarzenegger mystique with a better-than-average science-fiction premise, the director Paul Verhoeven has come up with a vigorous, superviolent interplanetary thriller that packs in wallops with metronomic regularity.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a fool to think he'll make it as the Johnny Carson of action films.
A worthy entry in the dystopian cycle launched by Blade Runner, this seems less derivative than most of its predecessors yet equally accomplished in its straight-ahead storytelling, with plenty of provocative satiric undertones and scenic details.
Latest News for Total Recall
July 08, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
If you flick through the celebrity pages of most British newspapers -- particularly the free sheets -- you'll likely recognise Jaime Winstone. As Ray Winstone's daughter she's... More...
June 03, 2009:
Kurt Wimmer Has Total Recall ![]()
The "Total Recall" remake being produced by Neal H. Moritz has got itself a writer: "Law Abiding Citizen" scribe Kurt Wimmer. More...
February 26, 2009:
Total Recall Remake in the Works ![]()
Hoping to use 21st century special effects to put a fresh spin on the story, Neal Moritz is in negotiations with Columbia to produce a "Total Recall" remake. More...
September 14, 2007:
The Weekly Ketchup: New Indiana Jones Title, Iron Man Trailer, and More!
In this week's Ketchup, we finally learn the title of the fourth Indiana Jones film, the Iron Man trailer blasts onto the net, and writer Paul Haggis allays our fears that we... More...
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