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Since when did Total Recall become as well-regarded as Predator?
That’s right. Never.
Let’s clear the air once and for all. Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall is NOT a classic of the genre. With the release and subsequent criticism of Len Wiseman’s remake alongside this blu-ray re-release, the so-called Mind-Bending Edition, it is becoming all too clear that people are mistaking it as such. They are wrong. Total Recall is total “Ahnold” Schwarzenegger over-the-top fun; it’s a goofy mind-trip full of cartoon violence and one-liners that induce more eye-rolls than laughs.
It is definitely not a classic, though.
The Martian-twisted script, written by Alien scribes Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, turns the Philip K. Dick short story on its ear and presents our hero, Doug Quaid (Schwarzenegger), a construction worker (‘Ahnold’ with a jackhammer? Hilarious!) who is haunted by dreams of Mars, as a super spy in the quest to provide a breathable atmosphere to the Martian landscape. Desiring to live his dream, he visits Rekall and gets a new life. But is it reality? A young Sharon Stone stars as his wife-for-hire (she’s really in league with the enemy) and Huey Lewis & The News (really Michael Ironside and Michael Champion in not-so-future garb) want him dead.
Perhaps the film’s development is a bit more interesting than the final product. According to Verhoeven, the film had undergone 42 revisions before he was even made aware of the screenplay. The most interesting sounding one (according to this reviewer) is what filmmaker David Cronenberg added: mutants on Mars and Kuato (the belly-attached resistance leader voiced by Marshall Bell), but the film still had no ending. The film itself was filmed mostly in Mexico City – even the Martian landscapes – and was originally given an “X” rating due to its bloodletting.
The “R” approved cut is straight up camp featuring Schwarzenegger in drag and a CGI first: X-rayed skeletons of commuters and their concealed weapons as they walk through a scanner. Back in the day, this was big news. Today? Oh, it still works but the sequence itself is a bit dull and slow. No biggie, though, the three-breasted woman (Lycia Naff) – who flashes her boobs in no less than three scenes – takes its place as an added attraction.
At the time, the visual and practical effects by Rob Bottin were thought of as ground-breaking and, while the miniatures are strong, there’s a limit to their acceptance today. Still, the practical effects are better than most of today’s CGI. Certainly, this film represents the end of an era. Especially with T2 just around the corner. There are a couple of eye-popping practical effects concerning Schwarzenegger’s head. One, in fact, has him shoving a tracking device locater through his nose. Another sees him thrashing about on the Martian landscape gasping for air alongside actress Rachel Ticotin. These animatronics, bordering on claymation-esque at the height of the asphyxiation silliness, are extreme to be sure, but nowhere near believable.
Besides the camp, the most important part of Total Recall is the score. And what a brilliant piece of orchestration it is courtesy of Jerry Goldsmith. Compelling and evocative score, the driving orchestration elevates the experience of the movie and aids Verhoeven’s weaker moments find the depth of the picture and the suspense. Without Goldsmith, Total Recall would be a much weaker affair.
Total Recall has the humor just about right. With Schwarzenegger in the lead, you just can’t present this science fiction material with a straight face. Seriously, he’d been acting for awhile when this was made, but you’d never believe it with this performance. It’s just awful. While Verhoeven would eventually get the B-movie humor right with the more effective Space Troopers, his stab at science fiction mayhem with Total Recall – complete with the decision to fade to white at the end instead to black - is a good start.
MPAA Rating: R.
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