Total Recall Movie 1990

Total Recall Movie Review

Hi All,

in todays post, I am going to discuss one of the most interesting and action filled dystopian films out there. Made in the 90s, it has a very 70s vibe to it, and I much prefer this film to the 2012 remake.

The film tells the story of construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who suddenly finds himself embroiled in espionage on Mars and unable to determine if the experiences are real or the result of memory implants. 

The basic plot starts in 2084, with Douglas Quaid is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. His wife Lori is dismissive of Mars, where there is an active rebellion towards its governor. Douglas visits Rekall, a company which implants false memories of vacations, Douglas chooses a holiday to Mars as a secret agent. but the procedure goes wrong because Quaid unknowingly has suppressed memories of actually being a secret agent on Mars.

Following this event Douglas’ life takes a very weird turn as he is attacked by and kills his colleagues, and then his own wife attacks stating that their marriage is nothing but a false memory implant.

Douglas spends the start of the film trying to make sense of his reality, whilst being pursued by “the agency”, and as the film goes on everything he originally went through with the Rekkal implant starts to play out in “reality”, and this puts into question the actuality of all of the events that follow the experience he had at Rekkal.

The film is full of many twists and turns, as well as strange characters, which makes it stand out against other dystopian films, as the characters are very creative considering that its set in 2084, which is not far away enough for a society on mars in my opinion, but would probably felt more real on it’s release in 1990.

If you are a fan of dystopian films then you will certainly enjoy this film as it constantly keeps you guessing whether all of the events are the result of the implant or actually happening for real, even to this very day, there is an ongoing debate trying to make sense of the film which is quite awesomely strange.

In my opinion Douglas is asleep throughout most of the film, as the events which he experiences at the start of the film when he has the Rekkal memory implants, mirrors the plot of the whole film, this in turn with the fact that his best friend and wife turn on him after he has experience with the memory implant seems to support this argument.

One of the key things I enjoy from this film is how creative some of the scenes are, and the imagination of what a mars society would look like in 2084.

With all of this being said, I would encourage you to watch this film and form your own opinion on what’s actually happening at each point, and the key question on whether Douglas ever leaves Rekkal or whether the entire film plays out in a memory implant.

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