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Movies / On DVD / Total Recall
Total Recall

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Total Recall (1990)

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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

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

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 17, 1997

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Reviews for Total Recall

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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The future doesn't come any better.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

[A] well paced, entertaining and thought-provoking piece of science fiction cinema, a truly superb, yet disregarded gem of that particular genre.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

This futuristic science fiction is based on a Philip K. Dick short story, and features award-winning special effects.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Neither Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Paul Verhoeven have stretched their talents here.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Perhaps it goes without saying that Total Recall is no The Terminator, but let the records show.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
09/27/01
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

There may be people who overlook the Arnold Schwarzenegger performance in Total Recall who think he isn't really acting. But the performance is one of the reasons the movie works so well.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You'd think by the year 2084 villains would have learned they shouldn't mess with Mr. Biceps. But no-o-o-o.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Ridiculous, but also plenty of fun

Full Review Source: Daily-Reviews | comment Comment
11/06/01
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Daily-Reviews

Schwarzenegger has enough inherent charm and likeability that he's better off when he just lets the story pull him along, as he does here.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/01/00
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

A gratuitous explosion of vainglory and guts, the movie is all firecrackers and giblets and broken glass. The overall effect is like wading through hospital waste.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a fool to think he'll make it as the Johnny Carson of action films.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/25/01
Jeremiah Kipp
Jeremiah Kipp
Filmcritic.com

Watching it now especially, it seems even more ahead of its time with it’s altered-reality storyline.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

It should please pretty much anyone who likes science fiction films. It should have a broad range of appeal on many levels.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Total Recall is fine entertainment, complete with breathtaking action sequences and special effects that impress even in these computer-generated times.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/12/08
Richard Luck
Richard Luck
Channel 4 Film

...people are allowed to change their minds

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
07/10/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Worryingly satisfying in a purely gruesome, beat-em-up kinda way.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/12/01
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine

...one of the best action flicks to emerge out of Hollywood in the '90s (or ever, really).

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Verhoeven keeps the whole thing chugging along neatly with a huge dollop of ultra-violence and gore. Schwarzenegger is at his best ever.

Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page | comment Comment
01/01/00
James O'Ehley
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page

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.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment 1 Comment
02/13/07
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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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 Opens in new window
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 Opens in new window
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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