Total Recall (1990)

I said I would see this after seeing the 2012 remake.  As Arnold might say, I'll be back!

Arnold plays Quaid, who is awakened by a nightmare, with his wife Sharon Stone beside him.  You know what that means!  He wants to travel to Mars, but his wife trashes the idea.  So instead, he goes to Rekall who will implant the memory of the trip for him.  He requests a secret agent theme.  Of course the transaction goes all wrong, and he starts on the run, discovering that he (and she) is not what it seemed.



To uncover the mystery, "Get your a-- to Mars!".  The imagined future of 1990 is nearly true today: the Mars/space travel, the video conference phones, the automated taxis.

Surprisingly, the movie(s) this reminded me of the most was....  Star Wars.  Yes, the storm troopers, the Darth Vader/Darth Maul, the mutants, the Luke/Leia dynamic, the colonization of Mars, the resistance.

This movie's time was fortuitous, being on the cusp of the 80s and 90s.  As such it incorporates the best touches of both:  from the 80s, the kitschy action scenes and good v. evil.  From the 90s, the suspenseful interpersonal drama (Basic Instinct, Disclosure).

* * *

No comments:

Post a Comment