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Total Recall Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-26 18:00:07
Imported:
2026-06
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Total Recall (1990)

Full Reaction You can either stream the Full reaction below using the embedded video player, otherwise you can click the 'Download' button which will take you directly to Google Drive, enabling you to save the video to your computer instead. You must provide your own footage to watch alongside the full reactions.

Comments

Ryan

My best guess is this one was requested due to a combination of you already having seen Blade Runner, the other hugely popular Phillip K. Dick adaptation, and Paul Verhoeven's Robocop. And it turns out those two sensibilities rather surprisingly go together like peanut butter and chocolate, and this is still a real gem of a movie, both hugely fun and engaging, while also being quite a bit smarter than most action movies of the time in ways that have people talking to this day. And if you want an even bigger appreciation of it, watch the 2012 remake which follows all the exact same story beats, but every single creative decision around them is wrong and the movie just sits on the screen like a bad pierogi. It was neat to see you immediately catch on to the movie's major hook: is any of this real or not? And the really great thing is the new format makes it able to improve on Dick's story We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, in which we're continually in Douglas Quail's head (and I have no idea why they changed just one letter of his name) throughout the initial Rekall visit and see that the memories were never implanted, so there's no question that it's all real. But the movie is able to cut away at that moment, so there actually is the possibility that all this is just the vacation he paid for. One bit I actually only caught in this very viewing is that the Rekall people all become much more cartoonish jerks at that moment (and we know that this time Verhoeven did know "bitch" was an insult after his experience on Robocop), which just adds to the possibility. And it's all summed up in a cameo by Roy Brocksmith, the biggest "smug prick" character actor of the time still stewing over Data beating him at his game, and absolutely perfect for roles like this. And then the film ends by fading to white, typical filmmaking language for the end of a dream, but still refusing to give us a solid answer which would have ruined the whole mystery. But even if you want to ignore all that, this is still a massively fun pure action movie, with Dick's story allowing the mystery of the memory wipes and just how far the conspiracy goes to pull you in just as much as the fight scenes. And I have to give a lot of credit to Arnold himself for selling the big twist, as for a guy often mocked for his limited acting skills, he does a hell of a job making Hauser convincing as a totally different person from Quaid in just a couple minutes of screentime as both the fake and real versions. I've also really come to appreciate how good Sharon Stone is in a deceptively complex role, and the moment she shows her true colors, it's clear why Verhoeven came back to her for the femme fatale of Basic Instinct. And of course this is the kind of role Michael Ironside was born for, and I'll take this opportunity to plug his recent film Blackberry which was so much better than I was expecting, and whose final scene actually made me gasp out loud in the theater with a moment that had been perfectly set up throughout the whole movie but I still didn't quite see coming. So there's two classic Verhoeven films down (and the two that Hot Shots Part Deux beat to become the bloodiest movie ever), dare I hope for Starship Troopers? You know what to do, guys.

TokuBLWhovian

Suggestion for March or April - Ultraman: Rising.

Thomas Corp

Unique and interesting is a succinct description for this. My favorite Verhoeven picture, and one of my favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger films. First saw this about fifteen years ago when I was nineteen, around the time I saw most of the other Arnold films. You mention your mom being an Arnold fan, which contrasts with my mom who, though seeing the appeal, Arnold’s films aren’t exactly her cup of tea. Dad, likewise, though not averse to Arnold’s films, never went out of his way to seek them out, though if you had them on the tv, he never protested much. I got so happy that you knew very little about this, and I yelled, “Good, good! PERFECT!” Lovely to see that this is one you greatly enjoyed. They never do specify when this takes place. According to the back of the blu-ray cover, the year this takes place is 2084, meaning you and I would be in our nineties by then. (Assuming we’re not already dead.) The cast in this is great. Rachel Ticotin, I always feel she’s an underappreciated talent, and here as Melina, like Lewis in RoboCop, she’s quite the tough as nails lady that holds her own well alongside the hero. The villains steal the show. Sharon Stone is greatly enigmatic as Lori, and yes, she does have the signature move against Quaid, appreciate your words on that one. Sharon is aided by her subsequent film work making it very believable whether she’d be ally or enemy. The great Michael Ironside is adored by my brother and I in this as Richter. Talk about a man who can plausibly fight against Arnold, which, yeah, he is fucking Darkseid after all. And of course, Ronny Cox is a blast again as the villain of a Verhoeven picture. I use his corn flakes line so much, and you and I both live for his absurdly petulant, “But NNNOOOO!” line. Damn shame about the goldfish, which was unnecessary. Lots of Star Trek actors in this, such as Roy Brocksmith whom we both lived for in his episode of Next Gen. And there’s Robert Picardo as the Johnny Cab, who given your past comments in the Toymaker business of Doctor Who, I don’t doubt your best friend finding Johnny Cab completely fucking terrifying. Plenty of chaos and carnage, chief amongst them, poor escalator meat-shield guy. Strangely enough, Quaid still seems far more concerned for the innocent bystanders than the Targaryens. The effects are so amazing; God bless Rob Bottin. Talking about the probe scene not being biologically possible. Probably not, no. You liken it to your surgery, yeah, I can see how that’d give you flashbacks. Can’t compare exact experiences, though I did have the one tear duct surgery three decades ago, where they put the straw in that, and later took it out. Didn’t hurt, but you could feel it. The way you talk about the stents, you win on that one, Jess. Jerry Goldsmith rocked with the music. And I adore the villainous demises, such as Benny’s. The hologram sequence is a hoot, and I loved your reaction; my brother and I love the “You think this is the real Quaid? It is.” bit. We also just so thoroughly love Richter’s death, which is a rough way to go; again, my brother and I quote, “SEE YOU AT DE PAHTY, RICHTAH!!!!” so goddamn much. And there’s the famous imagery of Cohaagen’s gruesome demise. My mom, being a retired science teacher, has words about the inaccuracy. Your own comment, “What in the Beetlejuice was that!?” may very well be the PERFECT response to that visual. They gave these people air, thus the day is saved. And it’ll provide opportunities for people to explore the caves for the precious Mars rocks, though if you say that in front of Tony, he’ll yell, “Jesus Christ, Marie, they’re minerals!” Bringing us to the big talking point: was this all bullshit fantasy, or was it real? It is nicely ambiguous throughout, and I love that you greatly appreciated that. We don’t have a concrete answer, which we love. Similar to Blade Runner, you hear the differing opinions. Verhoeven is on the side of fantasy. Arnold is on the side of reality. I keep noting that there are too many scenes outside of Quaid’s perspective if it is fantasy. But that aside, yeah you could make a case either way. I tend to lean toward real for the aforementioned thing of the scenes of the outside perspective, though I entertain both ideas. You mention favoring the fantasy, especially for the reasons of it’s rather fucked up and dark. Yeah, it would be at that. Supposing it is the fantasy, if he wakes up, you’d say, “Doug, you really ought to talk to somebody.” It would speak to a rather dark mind. Considering that if you poke around in my own brain, you’d probably see shit that looks like a German Expressionist film, or something that would be a Sith Lord’s ideal summer home, hence, I wouldn’t be one to talk, though I concede your observations about it being a dark fantasy. Likewise, you observed about finding that Quaid has very shitty handwriting. Maybe. Though considering my own scrawl, who am I to judge? All of it makes for most intellectually stimulating debates and discussions, and I loved hearing your own perspectives. And I especially liked how you said, real or not, we should give these people air. You’re such a sweet soul, Jess. Other quick small notes. I KNEW that you’d greatly LOVE the instant fingernail painting pen. I also knew you’d have a reaction to the Taurus line. Oh, this was just a reaction that was so much fun, Jess. Thank you very much.

Ryan
>>162560625

And the other clue fans love to bring up, the Rekall tech faintly says in the background that Quaid's program includes a blue sky on Mars. Not that anyone would recognize her, the dwarf prostitute is played by Debbie Lee Carrington, who we just saw as one of the penguins in Batman Returns. She passed away in 2018 at just 58 after a long variety of health issues. I recognized her on first viewing from the Seinfeld episode introducing Mickey, with a bunch of dwarf stand-ins for children on a soap opera. And another Trek connection, the three-breasted woman is Lycia Naff, who appeared twice in Season 2 as Sonya Gomez (once along with Roy Brocksmith), and showed up on Lower Decks as a kickass Captain.

Dave Hampton
>>162549749

I actually suggested this film for the poll and though Blade Runner and Robocop are good guesses it is actually her reaction to Roy Brocksmith in TNG that you mentioned that made me suggest it. There are least two other actors in this that are in future TNG episodes she has not reacted to yet. One very minor (though I wish she had a long role) and one big one that I am hoping people do not spoil for her in this comment section. Had I known it would have won the poll on its first appearance I may have waited to suggest it.

Dave Hampton

I am glad you enjoyed it. I did not think about the fingernail color changing tech before watching it but while watching it as it was coming up, I knew you would love that. I am glad you appreciated the is it real or not aspect. I have heard many arguments for both sides. I always favored it is real side of the argument but I am by no means convinced that is correct.

Thomas Corp
>>162549749

I seem to be the only man on the planet who does not like peanut butter and chocolate; the flavors clash too much for me. Inability to relate to the analogy aside, I do take your point of Blade Runner and RoboCop styles meshing so perfectly. This has a similar energy to the Tim Burton Batman films of being perfectly balanced. Like you observe, “both hugely fun and engaging, while also being quite a bit smarter than most action movies of the time in ways that have people talking to this day”. The 2012 version, Jesus, just the trailer alone told you everything about how prosaic and sterile it would be. It’s PG-13 rating REALLY fucking it over. And yeah, it just sits on the screen like fancy spaghetti. (“It’s not spaghetti, it’s linguini.”) Yeah, I loved for how Jess just locked onto the ambiguity of it all. And it really could go either way. I assume the name change was done as they found Quail to sound too silly. That’s a good point about the Rekall people suddenly feeling cartoonish. (And yes, Verhoeven learned his lesson after the “Bitches, leave.” business.) Roy Brocksmith does provide the perfect summation of it all whilst he still keeps stewing how Data kept making the wrong moves at the right times during that game. Speaking of that episode, I recall catching a comment recommending this film shortly after Jess reacted to that episode. I now see Dave’s comment confirming that. Somewhat unorthodox method to get someone to see this film, but I’ll take it. A very tightly written labyrinth of a mystery. This is one of those films that I point to and observe that Arnold does have some chops, acting-wise. Predator is another big one in that regard. Sharon is great, and it makes sense how she got the role in Basic Instinct. Not sure if I’ve seen that one start to finish, though I know that I’ve caught at least some of it. Certainly seen parodies, namely the one with Newman in Seinfeld, which is even funnier when you remember that Wayne was in that scene to begin with. Mind you, my introduction to Sharon was The Quick and the Dead, that I keep strongly recommending to people. Incidentally, that’s thirty this year, same as what I would say is Sharon’s best work as Ginger in Casino. Michael was definitely born for the role of Richter. Most recent thing he’s been involved in that I’ve seen was Late Night With the Devil, where he had a voice cameo; that was great to hear. Not yet seen Blackberry, though I need to. Assuming Jess hasn’t already seen Starship Troopers, yeah, that surely will be a HELL of a reaction. Concerning the future Next Gen business, seeing as this is twice now a certain someone has gone uncommented on, Star Trek-wise, I’m definitely trying my best to keep my mouth shut on that one, though it will be quite the waiting game there.

Thomas Corp
>>162562777

Upon being reminded of the fingernail pen when I rewatched this, I think my exact comment was something like, “Oh, Jess is going to be SO goddamn jealous of that thing.” Again, a few things make me lean toward the real side of the equation, and even then, I endorse the idea of the fantasy, especially the way Jess interpreted it, which was great.

Ryan
>>162549749

And my favorite part of all in the 2012 movie, while I certainly understand the impulse for a director to use his movies to say "Look how cool my wife is," he goes way overboard with several scenes being presented like we're supposed to be rooting for Lori. And that's after she also absorbed Richter's role. I first heard of this movie in a VHS set of the then four Alien films, which also included a making-of tape, where Dan O'Bannon talks about how he first started trying to do an adaptation of the Dick story back then, but with him being so unproven the studio would only fund one of his ideas and he picked Alien, with Total Recall taking another decade to get off the ground (and in the meantime he also had the Return of the Living Dead movies to pump his name up). Back when TV Guide was a thing, I remember when Seinfeld was ending they had an interview with Wayne Knight, who brought up how the writers seemed to love spoofing every movie he'd done, like the dinosaur picture in Newman's apartment and the Keith Hernandez spit from JFK (where his character had the last name Numa).

Thomas Corp
>>162549749

The Lori business does go overboard in the newer one. Yeah, my brother and I were PISSED when we found out about that of Richter’s role being absorbed by Lori in the newer one. Ah, the good old days of TvGuide. They did really like spoofing Wayne’s films in Seinfeld, now you mention it. Trying to recall if they ever did tackle Space Jam, which still might very well be my default image of Wayne, even three decades later.