Quick Movie Review: Total Recall

6/10

Paul Verhoeven. What a guy.

In the pantheon of Philip K. Dick adaptations (such as Screamers, follow link for review) this is actually one of the more faithful offerings in its plot and events, though Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the least appropriate bits of casting ever, since Dick's protagonists were usually ordinary schmoes and office furniture rather than aryan supermen.

Never mind - the story rockets along at a fair old pace and stays true to its internal logic, its intelligence shown best by the fact that it never commits to one version of events over any other in exactly the Dickian manner - sure we could be seeing real events, but only a small drop of sweat gives us any indication that this is not all in Quaid's head.

On the performances level it is your typical 80s action fare, i.e. nothing special, but the sheer exuberance of its excesses and the commitment to its twisted plot mean that it is easily the best Arnie movie of the 80s in which he is a human being.

A