Well, for the 3rd time since I started doing these reviews, I'm going to do another themed month. First we had 'So Bad It's Good September', then we had 'Angelina Jolie Month', now we are going to celebrate the worlds toughest Austrian with 'Schwarzenegger Month'.
For those fans of the Nostalgia Critic, of which I am one, I am fully aware that he also reviewed 4 of Arnold's movies. I loved the idea, so I decided to review another 4 of his films. It's worth noting that I won't be looking at any of the films that the NC looked at, so I'm not entirely ripping him off. But anyway, without further ado, here is the first critique of this special month, 'Total Recall'
Released in 1990 under the direction of Sci-Fi veteran Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers, Robocop) and starting Schwarzenegger alongside Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox, the story concerns a construction worker from the future who finds himself fighting an evil, corrupt governor on Mars. As far as Sci-Fi movies go, it's one of my faves, so let's see what it has to offer.
We are introduced to Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger), a construction worker in the year 2084, who has been having recurring dreams about the planet of Mars, which human beings have inhabited. Quaid's wife Lori (Stone) is generally dismissive about these dreams, but is concerned about how much it weighs on her husband's mind. Quaid is fascinated by Mars, and as such, visits a company called Rekall, who are able to literally implant a vacation into their client's heads, and chooses a holiday on Mars. These vacations are free from the usual annoyances encountered on vacations, such as exorbitant hotel prices, unreasonable taxi fares, inclement weather etc.
For an extra 300 'credits', Quaid is able to spice up his vacation by going there as a Secret Agent. Now granted, an Austria body-building secret agent on assignment on Mars sounds pretty cool, but from the get-go, things immediately go awry. Before the memory can be implanted, Quiad becomes hostile, accusing the Rekall employees of blowing his cover. Sedating him, erasing his memory of Rekall, and chucking him a cab home, Quiad then discovers that his wife is, in fact, not his wife, and actually just an agent hired to keep an eye on him. Before he can be murdered by armed thugs, he escapes into the street.
Just when it seems that not even a dose of the Clap could make his day any worse, he is contacted by a mysterious man who informs him that he is being tracked, and that he is in fact a man called Hauser, and used to work for Vilos Cohaagen (Cox), the cruel and ruthless Governor of Mars. Cohaagen is harvesting an ore called Turbinium, the mining of which releases toxic fumes that puts thousands of innocent lives at risk.
So our hero sets out for Mars to kick Cohaagen's Turbinium-mining ass. Accompanying him is Melina (Ticotin), a woman who has been appearing in Quaid's Mars dreams, and constantly on his tail is Cohaagen's blood-thirsty Lieutenant Richter (Ironside), who wants nothing more than to put a bullet in Quaid's head.
If you are a Schwarzenegger fan, you will love this film. It has everything the man is famous for: Massive gun fights, punch-ups, one-liners, explosions, all that good stuff. On top of this, it has impressive visual effects, memorable characters, and, for a Schwarzenegger film, a pretty complicated plot. It's not just 'Arnold shows up, shoots people and leaves'. There's genuine motivation, making the action all the more compelling. Ronny Cox plays a very nasty villain, determined to do everything to maintain his power, and let nobody stand in the way of his pernicious plans.
I've heard that the 2012 remake was not very impressive, nowhere near the standard of the original. Having never seen it, I can't pass judgement. All I can say is that the original movie is awesome. It's big, clever, faced paced, and has Arnold Schwarzenegger kicking the Bejesus out of countless bad guys. What more could you possibly want?
More 'Schwarzenegger Month' on the way!
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