Background:
Year Of Release: 1990
Directed By: Paul Verhoeven
Written By: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Gary Goldman, John Povill
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Mel Johnson Jr., Marshall Bell.
Duration: 113 minutes
Directed By: Paul Verhoeven
Written By: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Gary Goldman, John Povill
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Mel Johnson Jr., Marshall Bell.
Duration: 113 minutes
In A Nutshell:
Set in the future, constuction worker Douglas Quaid (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) has constant dreams/nightmares of being on the planet Mars. His wife, Lori (played by Sharon Stone) isn't too fond of his plans for vacation on the planet. Douglas in turn goes to Rekall, a company that provides virtual vacation memories implanted into customers. Things go awry and he is forced to go to the planet for real. Or is he?
Thumbs Up:
+ Fairly interesting Sci-Fi story with a few twists thrown in
+ Fun 80s old-school style action sequences (see also thumbs down)
+ Special effects that were ground-breakingly amazing during its era while favourably refreshing when viewed today
+ Plenty of moments to make you go "WOW"
+ Wisecracking and witty dialogues/quotes
+ Fun 80s old-school style action sequences (see also thumbs down)
+ Special effects that were ground-breakingly amazing during its era while favourably refreshing when viewed today
+ Plenty of moments to make you go "WOW"
+ Wisecracking and witty dialogues/quotes
Thumbs Down:
- The action sequences require a great degree of suspending belief
The Verdict Is In:
There are plenty articles out there nowadays discussing the extinction of the blockbuster actor. No longer is a movie guaranteed to generate hundreds of millions at the box-office just by having an actor's name attached to it. Blockbuster directors still exists but actors are becoming rare breeds. The era which these marquee names were prominent was actually my favourite movie era, the 80s and early 90s (it was my childhood, I'm nostalgic like that... or perhaps I'm still a kid trapped in a man's body, my action figure collection might point to that). The biggest of them all arguably was former Mr. Universe, California Govenor, and number one on my list of 7 Favourite Athletes Turned Actors, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
After Terminator 2: Judgement Day [1991] and Predator [1987], this is my favourite film from the Governator. The Sci-Fi plot here is rather interesting with a few twists and moments that make you go "whoa!" (the two photos above as an example, also notable is a three-boob woman). The special effects back then was considered revolutionary, I remember how the X-ray scene in the photo below put people in awe. In fact the effects in the movie were nominated for an Oscar. Even by today's standards, I consider it to be refreshing with it's emphasis on old-school style puppetry and make-up instead of computer-generated images. We barely get to see characters or creatures made using that technique today. Guillermo del Toro being the only exception (would have been interesting if he had stayed on to direct The Hobbit [2012] ). I wonder what the new remake starring Colin Farrel next week will be like?
After Terminator 2: Judgement Day [1991] and Predator [1987], this is my favourite film from the Governator. The Sci-Fi plot here is rather interesting with a few twists and moments that make you go "whoa!" (the two photos above as an example, also notable is a three-boob woman). The special effects back then was considered revolutionary, I remember how the X-ray scene in the photo below put people in awe. In fact the effects in the movie were nominated for an Oscar. Even by today's standards, I consider it to be refreshing with it's emphasis on old-school style puppetry and make-up instead of computer-generated images. We barely get to see characters or creatures made using that technique today. Guillermo del Toro being the only exception (would have been interesting if he had stayed on to direct The Hobbit [2012] ). I wonder what the new remake starring Colin Farrel next week will be like?
Of course like most of Arnie's and action films from that period, it requires a high level of suspending belief when viewed in the present day. Often times you would go "oh, come on!" or "stupid bad guy!". But these type of action were quite fun. I don't want to use the cliché term, "leaving your brain at door", because I don't believe in the concept and the story in this movie does have a level of complexity to it. But if you can get past the illogical aspects of the action then this is a very enjoyable flick indeed.
Selected Quote:
"If I'm not me, then who the hell am I?"
Selected Quote:
"If I'm not me, then who the hell am I?"
Rating:
7.5 out of 10