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Total Recall 1990

  • 17-02-2020 10:08am
    #1
    B.A._Baracus
    Registered Users Posts: 11,170 ✭✭✭✭


    What a movie. Was on ITV4 again on Saturday night. Must have seen it a dozen times (even more) over the years.
    Has to be Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie. A tall feat considering movies like Predator and Terminator.
    Everything about it... from the story. To Mars. The score. The cast. I could go on :)

    It's also the type of movie where watching it again you pick up on new details.
    I personally watch the movie as the story is being told. Like that what you see is what is meant to be happening. But there is enough stuff thrown in there to cast doubt any of it is real.

    Like when Quaid first goes to recall and freaks out screaming "you blew my cover!" - That's Houser back in control or, as said moments later, he is acting out his secret agent ego trip.

    Moments before the "implant" happens you can see the mars reactor on the tv set as artwork. One of the tech guys even says "oh blue sky on mars thats a new one" - and the movie ends with a blue sky.. on mars!

    Anyone share to love for this movie? :p

    Is Total Recall Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie? 94 votes

    Yes. It's his best.
    95% 90 votes
    No. It's not.
    4% 4 votes


«13

Comments

  • #2
    Andrew76
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Andrew76


    It's a great film alright but of his earlier films I'd pick Predator over it, it hasn't aged as bad and is a more enjoyable film to watch imo. As for his best film, hard to chose but Maggie would be up there for me. I thought he was very good in it.


  • #3
    Keyzer
    Registered Users Posts: 4,331 ✭✭✭Keyzer


    Two weeks


  • #4
    Theboinkmaster
    Registered Users Posts: 3,963 ✭✭✭Theboinkmaster


    Terminator 2 and True Lies would be better films IMO.

    It's still a great film though.


  • #5
    B.A._Baracus
    Registered Users Posts: 11,170 ✭✭✭✭B.A._Baracus


    I remember liking the Commadore 64 game as well:

    hqdefault.jpg

    Total_Recall.jpg


  • #6
    Sugarlumps
    Registered Users Posts: 6,895 ✭✭✭Sugarlumps


    Sharon Stone looks incredible in it.


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  • #7
    Dades
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,556 Mod ✭✭✭✭Dades


    I caught a bit of it over the weekend. Great fun.

    My missis had never seen the triple breasted lady, so that was a eye opener for her. :p

    I'm sure Luc Besson borrowed from it when making The Fifth Element.
    Sugarlumps wrote: »
    Sharon Stone looks incredible in it.
    She absolutely does!


  • #8
    mikhail
    Registered Users Posts: 3,863 ✭✭✭mikhail


    I've never quite understood the love for Total Recall. I don't rate it as either Schwarzenegger's nor Verhoeven's best film. Obviously, others disagree.

    Schwarzenegger movies I like better include: Predator, Conan the Barbarian, Terminator 2, True Lies, The Terminator, and Red Heat.

    Verhoeven movies I prefer: Robocop, Starship Troopers, Flesh + Blood.


  • #9
    griffin100
    Registered Users Posts: 4,761 ✭✭✭griffin100


    Went to see it the day after my leaving cert results came out so it’ll always remind me of that. Always remember one of the lads had trouble getting in as he looked about 12 but was 17.

    I rate Predator more highly as an Arnie flick, but Starship Troopers beats fhen all.


  • #10
    Riesen_Meal
    Registered Users Posts: 10,575 ✭✭✭✭Riesen_Meal


    Dades wrote: »
    My missis had never seen the triple breasted lady, so that was a eye opener for her. :p

    We watched it in primary school, our teacher scrambling across the room to fast forward that scene as he was oblivious to it and had never seen it before someone brought it in to watch...

    Hilarious to think we could watch this, Gremlins, and even Nightmare On Elm Street in primary school...

    Contrast to my friends child, one of their teachers brought in a Nightmare before Christmas and there was letters home and teachers getting reprimanded for it...

    We lived in simpler time's! :)


  • #11
    world class wreckin’ cru
    Closed Accounts Posts: 200 ✭✭world class wreckin’ cru


    I remember the buzz when it came out. Remember renting it an watching the video. I love it! Philip K. Dick has some great stories.

    Arnie's best? Not in my opinion. I think Terminator 2, Predator and True Lies are all round better films. I think it somewhat suffers from being an ambitious execution of a sci-fi story set on Mars given some limitations at the time.


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  • #12
    w/s/p/c/
    Registered Users Posts: 468 ✭✭w/s/p/c/


    Class film, must give it a re-watch soon!

    The updated version starring Colin Farrell (forgettable film, I know) is seemingly closer to the book its based on. But you will never beat the Arnie version. I'm off to get my a$$ to Mars!!


  • #13
    tedpan
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 4,627 Mod ✭✭✭✭tedpan


    B.A._Baracus wrote:
    Anyone share to love for this movie?

    Yes, have a day off today, watching it now!


  • #14
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    Fieldog wrote: »
    We watched it in primary school, our teacher scrambling across the room to fast forward that scene as he was oblivious to it and had never seen it before someone brought it in to watch...

    Hilarious to think we could watch this, Gremlins, and even Nightmare On Elm Street in primary school...

    Contrast to my friends child, one of their teachers brought in a Nightmare before Christmas and there was letters home and teachers getting reprimanded for it...

    We lived in simpler time's! :)

    My primary school teacher brought in Life of Brian in the early 90s. He also had us learning LOGO programming on the school's Commodore 64s

    Great lad he was.


  • #15
    Skerries
    Registered Users Posts: 12,292 ✭✭✭✭Skerries


    I'd actually rate The Running Man higher than Total Recall but it is one of his better films and the hype at the time was massive
    Untitled Image




  • #16
    pixelburp
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 35,941 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    To use a phrase I'd read before, this was a perfect case of the Clever Dumb Movie, and that's meant 100% as a compliment. Obviously the gore, action and one-liners are top drawer for the genre of "dumb action", but I'd argue what tipped the film into full blown "classic" status was the intelligent structure and mystery added to to the story. Very much in keeping with the often mind-bending work of Phillip K. Dick, who wrote the story this was (loosely) based on.

    Not sure if Mr. Verhoeven ever came down one side or another, but the fact the movie can be interpreted either as reality, or a manifestation of Quad's spiralling "Recall" fantasy, was a stroke of genius. The viewer was left to decide for themselves. The dramatic set-piece with the Recall executive worked not just as a tense scene in its own right, but the confirmation that you genuinely could see how the whole thing was a dream.


  • #17
    Slydice
    Registered Users Posts: 10,501 ✭✭✭✭Slydice


    It's a really good film.

    It is not his best film.


  • #18
    Homelander
    Registered Users Posts: 4,338 ✭✭✭Homelander


    Might not be his best film but it's definitely my favourite. Such a masterful blend of high grade endearing cheesy schlock, violence and sci-fi spectacle that is more intelligent than it lets on.

    As far as Verhoven goes, it's a close tie between this, Robocop and SST, but I think troopers edges it for me.


  • #19
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    has aged pretty badly as a movie I would say.


  • #20
    Jimbob1977
    Registered Users Posts: 2,239 ✭✭✭Jimbob1977


    Johnny Cab must have inspired Elon Musk and Google.


  • #21
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    Caught this too over the weekend. Made or an easy decision to stay in instead of braving the elements. Very enjoyable despite familiarity and age.




    pixelburp wrote: »
    Not sure if Mr. Verhoeven ever came down one side or another, but the fact the movie can be interpreted either as reality, or a manifestation of Quad's spiralling "Recall" fantasy, was a stroke of genius. The viewer was left to decide for themselves. The dramatic set-piece with the Recall executive worked not just as a tense scene in its own right, but the confirmation that you genuinely could see how the whole thing was a dream.
    Verhoeven just stayed faithful to Philip K Dick's regular ambiguity thing.


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  • #22
    slipperyox
    Registered Users Posts: 594 ✭✭✭slipperyox


    What have you been feeding this thing?


  • #23
    Tony EH
    Registered Users Posts: 18,872 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    'Conan the Barbarian' smashes it to pieces.

    'Total recall' is kinda stupid really.


  • #24
    Conall Cernach
    Registered Users Posts: 1,924 ✭✭✭Conall Cernach


    Tony EH wrote: »
    'Conan the Barbarian' smashes it to pieces.

    'Total recall' is kinda stupid really.
    I would say that Conan is fantastic whereas Total Recall is still pretty good.


  • #25
    Tony EH
    Registered Users Posts: 18,872 ✭✭✭✭Tony EH


    Conall Cernach wrote: »
    I would say that Conan is fantastic whereas Total Recall is still pretty good.

    I watched it on video when I was younger, but was never that big a fan and it kind of looks dopey as well. All that bug eyed nonsense on Mars was ridiculous.

    It also looks cheap too (I thought so at the time), for a film that was considered the most expensive ever made up til then.

    It's more of an interesting curio these days to me.


  • #26
    The Royal Scam
    Registered Users Posts: 982 ✭✭✭The Royal Scam


    The officer who caught the head in the airport that exploded was an Irish stuntman from the curragh who was also a stuntman on Father Ted aswell called Bronco McLaughlin


    https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2019/0326/1038757-irish-stuntman-anthony-bronco-mcloughlin-has-died/


  • #27
    w/s/p/c/
    Registered Users Posts: 468 ✭✭w/s/p/c/


    slipperyox wrote: »
    What have you been feeding this thing?

    Blondes!! :pac:


  • #28
    pixelburp
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 35,941 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    tricky D wrote: »
    Caught this too over the weekend. Made or an easy decision to stay in instead of braving the elements. Very enjoyable despite familiarity and age.

    Verhoeven just stayed faithful to Philip K Dick's regular ambiguity thing.

    Verhoeven still deserves praise for maintaining the depth of the original story's roots; IIRC the Colin Farrell remake kept much closer to Dick's "We Can Remember it For You, Wholesale", yet did nothing with the potential to play with the viewer's sense of reality. So while Verhoeven shot the viewer off to Mars instead, he still maintained the important tonal elements that really made it shine.


  • #29
    batman_oh
    Registered Users Posts: 1,388 ✭✭✭batman_oh


    Great film but for me Commando is the ultimate Arnie film. Cheese ball 80s greatness, ridiculous to the point that they must have been taking the p*ss and riddled with one liner goodness


  • #30
    the purple tin
    Registered Users Posts: 10,943 ✭✭✭✭the purple tin


    It's an enjoyable film, but you really have to go some to beat Predator.


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  • #31
    Andrew33
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,857 ✭✭✭Andrew33


    Nervous Laugh wrote: »
    I remember the buzz when it came out. Remember renting it an watching the video. I love it! Philip K. Dick has some great stories

    Do Androids Dream of electric sheep
    Which was made into one of my favourite films of all time.


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