In 2084 Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwartzenegger) is a construction worker plagued by dreams of being on Mars with a sexy brunette. He decides to take an imaginary adventure "vacation" to Mars with artificial memories implanted in his brain by the Rekall company.
Doctors at Rekall discover Quaid's mind has already been altered. He returns home with no memory of his Rekall visit, and his wife Lori (Sharon Stone) informs him that everything he now remembers is false, only implanted memories. Quaid learns he was a secret agent on Mars and a threat to the government. Then he is pursued by Richter (Michael Ironside), a man working for Mars' administrator Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox), a power-hungry madman. Quaid sees his real personality on a viewing screen: "Now get your ass to Mars."
Quaid travels to Mars to uncover the truth. Vilos Cohaagen rules a domed city mining colony with a monopoly on oxygen. Melina (Rachel Ticotin), the girl from his dreams, tells Quaid his real name is Hauser and he quit working for Cohaagen and joined the underground resistance. With the help of Melina, and mutants Benny (Mel Johnson, Jr.) and Kuato (Marshall Bell), the leader of the resistance, Quaid learns that Cohaagen has an ancient alien terraforming device that could make Mars' atmosphere breathable, and thus ruin his monopoly and power.
Kuato: "What do you want, Mr. Quaid?"
Quaid: "The same as you, to remember."
Kuato: "But why?"
Quaid: "To be myself again."
Kuato: "You are what you do. A man is defined by his actions, not his memory."
Quaid, Melina and Benny set out to find and activate the device. Lori and Kuato are killed and Quaid and Melina are captured, because Benny is a traitor. Cohaagen informs Quaid that as Hauser he willingly had his mind erased to capture Kuato.
Cohaagen: "Don't touch that, get away, get back!"
Quaid: "What are you afraid of? Turn it on."
Cohaagen: "Impossible, once the reaction starts, it'll spread to all the turbinium in the planet. Mars will go into global meltdown. That's why the aliens never turned it on."
Quaid: "And you expect me to believe you?"
Cohaagen: "Who gives a s**t what you believe? In thirty seconds you'll be dead, and I'll blow this place up and be home in time for corn flakes. I didn't want it to end this way, I wanted Hauser back, but nooo, you had to be Quaid."
Quaid: "I am Quaid."
Cohaagen: "You're nothing, you're nobody, you're a stupid dream. Well, all dreams come to an end."
Quaid refuses to become Hauser again and escapes with Melina. They activate the alien device and the villains are killed. The Martian atmosphere becomes breathable with blue skies. The last lines are Quaid saying, "I just had a terrible thought. What if this is a dream?" Melina replies, "Well then kiss me quick before you wake up." In the end, Quaid doesn't know if the adventure was real or an implanted fantasy. The viewing audience is left wondering the same thing.
TOTAL RECALL is based on Philip K. Dick's 1966 novelette, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". It is a science fiction action movie with dazzling Oscar-winning special effects and impressive stunts. A mind-bending thrill-a-minute futuristic adventure, it has intriguing ideas and endless twists. There is much gratuitous and graphic violence as well as profanity, so the film is rated R. At the time of its production TOTAL RECALL had the largest budget of any Hollywood movie: $65 million. The film grossed well over $260,000,000 at the box office.
Others in the cast include: Michael Champion (Helm), Roy Brocksmith (Dr. Edgemar), Ray Baker (Bob McClane), Rosemary Dunsmore (Dr. Lull), David Knell (Ernie), Alexia Robinson (Tiffany), Dean Norris (Tony), Mark Carlton (Bartender), Debbie Lee Carrington (Thumbelina), Lycia Naff (Mary), Robert Costanzo (Harry), Michael LaGuardia (Stevens), Marc Alaimo (Everett), Erika Carlson (Miss Lonelyhearts), and many others. The screen play was written by Ronald Shussett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman. Music was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Paul Verhoeven directed.
TOTAL RECALL 2070: MACHINE DREAMS (1999) is the pilot TV movie for the brief TV series with only a tentative connection to the 1990 movie. David Hume (Michael Easton) is a 21st century cop who is supposed to keep an eye on the Consortium, the group of private companies that unofficially runs the world. Consortium creates mayhem and Hume tries to clean it up. He must fight androids and solve murders that happen at the virtual reality vacation agency. This film is OK, but not in the same league with Schwartzenegger's version.
TOTAL RECALL 2070 is a short-lived sci-fi TV series first broadcast in Canada in 1999 and later the same year on "Showtime". It was later syndicated after scenes of nudity and violence were edited out. A Canadian/German co-production, it was filmed in my hometown of Toronto. Only 22 episodes were produced. The first airdate was January 5, 1999 and the last was June 8, 1999. Viewers' comments are unanimous: this is a great TV show and it resembles BLADE RUNNER (1982) more than TOTAL RECALL. The cast includes: Michael Easton, Karl Pruner, Michael Rawlins, Cynthis Preston, Judith Krant, Damon D'Oliveira, and others. There were 5 writers, including Philip K. Dick, who wrote the original book. Mario Azzopardi and 5 others directed.
