Total Recall (1990)
How would you know if someone stole your mind?
Time has passed enough, so now we come back to the grand experiment. It occurs to me afterwards that this was perhaps not the best one to do - but at the same time, maybe it ends up being the perfect one because of that? Only time will tell as I get to it in a few, but for now, get ready to see a lot of red as you get your ass to Mars, it’s time for the Arnold Total Recall.
A couple are out for a nice little space walk when the dude falls down the cliff and breaks his helmet, starting an uncontrolled expansion of his head as it races towards explosion. It’s okay though, he wakes up from his nightmare at home with the wife who has other ways of getting his mind off Mars. It’s one of those days he can’t get it out of his head though, especially after he sees an ad for a memory-altering service that can implant great vacations into your head for a fee. His coworker warns him about it being a dangerous thing - but he goes anyways, and hit’s a big snag when it turns out he’s already got some fake memories going on, which prompts the place to just wipe his memories of even being there and dumping him in a taxi to somewhere else - out of sight out of mind I guess right? Not so much for our lead though, as now he finds people all around him trying to murder him, and even himself having recorded secret messages telling him to get to Mars. Is it all part of his vacation package, or is there more than meets the eye to this boring construction worker?
Actors here do a fine job, but I’ll throw in the classic Arnold action flick caveat of having some one liners and a few folks really hamming it up. I wouldn’t really call it bad acting at any real points - even if it is without a doubt cheesy acting at times - but I do feel that statement will have differnet mileage depending on the watcher. Sometimes our lead can be a bit… plain, shall we call it with his deliveries. You could angle the fuzzy or foggy sense of self to some of it, and there are plenty of moments where he and the other members of the crew do a far better job with as little as a look. Might not be any awards coming it’s way from a modern crowd that’s had a far wider range of videos to draw comparisons from, but I think for the most part the actors do what the movie is largely intending with a few expections.
The characters are there, with the main depth really being for our main who doesn’t really remember who he is. That being said, it doesn’t really feel like growth necessarily as he’s the same guy the entire time we see him really, but past him is implied to be a bit of a jerk so there is at least on paper development from that. There are some twists and turns as characters “develop” into something they aren’t, and the whole story likes to jump in on leaning into the idea that it could just be a dream and not real - but I don’t think it’s something that comes off as a character study with how advanced it’s characters are. They fill their role and get some main screen time, or they are background characters that will probably be more remembered for having three boobs then anything they do or say in the movie.
Mars, the red planet
The scenery and costumes get to have some fun here. It’s a lot of practical stuff, but at times how much can be a little up to question - for example, sometimes you can tell a shot of a train on mars is probably done as a miniature, but other times you aren’t quite sure of how much of the background is replaced, and if it’s mostly a matte painting or a miniature or projection. Either way for the most part the sets look good - enough science fiction to them that it’s a bit futuristic, if not grim in that Weyland Yutani “who needs guard rails” sense. The mix of interior and exterior shots means there’s a bunch of variety, and distinct places do have a specific feel about them - the more concrete feeling of our opening sets compared to the more steel of our Mars hotel, or the somewhat grimey but boldly neon of the Venustown set. We get plenty of variety in the costumes, although a good portion of that is more towards the effects then the actual costume itself. Honestly, for the most part although it’s slightly off-fashion for today’s sense, most the scenes outside of the VT you would be forgiven for thinking it anything but an everyday eighties or nineties combination attire. Of course, then you get the cops with their shiny helmets and the space suits to remind you just in case you forgot.
Effects are certainly on both sides of the fence here. Although a good portion of them still look great - the mutant prosthetics, the abundance of squibs and explosions, and even some of the other things liek the X-Ray scanner at the metro - there are also a bunch that show their age pretty hard with the rotoscoping and the prosthetic fake heads. Now, I woudn’’t really say that mostly any of them looked bad in the sense of something you’d catch on Sharknado, but especially with the passage of time constantly improving things I can’t necessarily call something that I feel like most people would be able to call out as a fake head a great effect either - but it keeps me entertained and for the most part not getting taken out of the fun of the movie. People that like effects will probably appreciate the mix of stuff regardless, and the take on the future with the robo-taxis and the holographic trainers and the likes is a nice little spin that makes it feel like they weren’t entirely off - even if we don’t really have crap on Mars still.
Audio is balanced fine, and line deliveries are normally well done even if a few can feel a bit flat as mentioned in the acting. Sound effects add plenty, and music does that supporting role nicely. Did it stick around with me after? No, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point. For the thinking folk, you do have the is it real or not, a few morality plays, greed, and whatever else you could probably dig up in it - but I wasn’t looking super duper hard, and I usually don’t anyways so I’m not the most spectacular person if your looking for an in depth “what does it mean” kind of essay - a thing I feel like most people would know of me at this point if you’ve hung around for a while.
Aged like wine and cheese.
It’s still a pretty fun movie, and I get a kick out of it. If you like the old Arnold flicks, you’ll enjoy this as it’s another one of them. The premise is interesting enough and they do play with it within the movie itself, and if you aren’t one to crave a plot it still has plenty of action and cheesy nineties fist fights. Effects are decent and pretty varied, and it carries out at a pretty brisk feeling pace, not giving you too long to really feel bored. I know what you really want to know though - what about the experiment?
Well, I actually sort of spoiled that in the introduction much like this movie kind of does, and you didn’t even notice. See, this and the later movie bearing the same name really do end up feeling like the same premise done in two totally different ways. As the subject said, more or less, “one is more like a generic action movie, and the other is more like a philosophical ride with action.” Basically, they weren’t’ similar enough that he really felt like it was an apples to apples comparison, which ends up making me think more of Alien and it’s direct sequel, in which if you like action more then the sequel will be more to your liking and if you like horror the first will be your gem. I will admit, the older one feels like it has a better pace to me and as far as just being enjoyable I’d go to the first one as well (given I’m a sucker for Arnold). The setting feels more futuristic and varied, probably on account of having Mars in it, but that being said the fights that do happen in the second one do have a far more dramatic effect with how they are shot, and the entire thing ends up looking nicer and more clean in the effects department thanks to the benefits of technological progress. Both play with the is he isn’t he aspect to some extents, and I feel like which one grabs your attention probably depends on how much you like the movie, but mystery wise the original if left far more open then the redo. In conclusion, perhaps this wasn’t the best choice to run with for the experiment - or maybe I need to find a more decisive test subject for the next run?