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Total Recall

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Total Recall (1990)

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Reviews Counted:7

Fresh:5

Rotten:2

Average Rating:6.6/10

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

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Release:

Jun 17, 1997

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Reviews for Total Recall

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1 - 7 (sorted by date)
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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.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/01/07
Variety
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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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/01/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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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
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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).

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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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
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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
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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
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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...

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