Futuristic Mind-Bender

I have always been a huge Arnold Schwarzenegger fan.  I saw nearly all of his movies before I was thirteen years old.  He is the heavyweight champion of action movies, and Total Recall is one of the reasons why.

Total Recall takes place in the year 2084, and is about a man called Hauser who goes for a virtual vacation of the planet Mars.  During the vacation implantation, things go haywire and Hauser finds out his true destiny.  While Total Recall is, for all intents and purposes, a typical Schwarzenegger movie, there are certain science fiction aspects to the film that really make your brain work.  This is a surprisingly pleasant element to the film.  However in all the hundreds of times I have watched this movie, I have always wanted more backstory involving the aliens and the reactor.  Also at the end of the film, we never actually see Vilos Cohaagen die, or explode, or whatever it is people do when they are exposed to Mars's atmosphere.  This is a very minor, but possibly important plot hole.

Arnold Schwarzenegger never was, and never will be a great actor.  Although, I do not think he ever needed to be.  I think he knows what he is good at, and I think we as film fans know what he is good at.  He just needs to keep kicking ass until the end of his days, and everything will be right with the world.  We seem be romantic in this movie, though, which is a rare thing in a Schwarzenegger movie.  Of course, because he is Arnold Schwarzenegger, not only are the women stunningly beautiful, but they can kick ass along with him.  Personally, I would have had Sharon Stone be his real wife.  I mean, who wouldn't?

Paul Verhoeven really knows how to direct an action movie.  Using many quick cuts, he leaves you on the edge of your seat until the very end.  He also uses great establishing shots of the landscape of Mars that really make you feel like this is what Mars will look like in the future.  The sets are great, the effects are glorious, and everything else just screams, "Great action movie".

Total Recall could possibly be the most enjoyable Schwarzenegger movie.  He carries the film in a different way than in his other movies.  Also, Total Recall is a bit open-ended, so be prepared to think afterwards!