Total Recall
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 71 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 71
  3. Negative: 4 out of 71

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  1. OneWhoKnows
    Aug 25, 2010
    10
    Philip K. Dick is one of the best sci-fi authors in history. In fact almost all his written work has been transposed into great film. Total Recall is one of his best efforts. Again this is a movie that requires a thought process, so if Napoleon Dynamite is your fave, give up and don't watch this movie because you will get lost. The ending is purposely left to your won interpretation... this makes it GREAT!… Expand
  2. TomV.
    Oct 20, 2006
    10
    An intricate and clever plot, with cinematography that will keep you riveted. Perhaps the most intelligent movie starring Schwarzenegger ever.
  3. TastyJamProject
    Aug 1, 2012
    10
    This is arguably a better Arnie film than the two Terminators. Excellent and till remains a classic.
  4. Zilcell
    Aug 6, 2012
    10
    One of the best science fiction movies ever. Other than seeing Arnold take over the screen with a fantastic performance, Total Recall is witty, fast-paced, action packed, and occasionally humorous.
  5. ILHM
    Mar 10, 2013
    9
    After experiencing recurring dreams of an alternate life on Mars, Douglas Quaid visits Rekall, a company that deals in virtual vacations, to receive memory implants of a trip to Mars with an added package that would transform him into an interplanetary spy. Before the procedure can begin, however, Quaid experiences a schizoid embolism that awakens hidden memories which had been erased from his mind, and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a corporate conspiracy that will take him back to Mars as he fends off evil mercenaries in an attempt to save the planet. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in the explosive Sci-Fi thriller TOTAL RECALL, from 1990! Director Paul Verhoeven takes us along on this wild adventure through the futuristic streets of Earth in the year 2084 and beneath the red sands of Mars using mind-blowing make-up, production designs, and digital effects that earned the film the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects that year. The adrenaline-pumping action and suspense never let up from beginning to end, while the audience is left to decipher whether the events on screen are really happening, or if this is all just part of some elaborate nightmare. Arnold is better than usual as our exciting action hero, this time going up against a menacing Michael Ironside in another of his stereotypical roles as the film's baddie. With a compelling and complex storyline to match its jaw-dropping special effects, TOTAL RECALL earns its place as one of the strongest Science Fiction films from the 1990s.

    -Carl Manes
    I Like Horror Movies    … Expand
  6. DutchH
    Jan 14, 2013
    9
    Wonderful film. True Sci Fi. Unfortunately I think many watch it today and rate it yet forget it was made in in 1990. It has the suspense and great feel any good Sci Fi film should have and it has Arnold! Can't beat that. If you haven't seen it you must check it out.
  7. Rapture1959
    Jun 17, 2013
    9
    This film is my preferred of Schwarzy with Terminator 2.
    I do not understand the mean scores of the press.
    The 2012 version is completely missed it.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
57 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    50
    The plot, based on a Phillip K. Dick story, is ingenious; and Arnold Schwarzenegger brings an effective blend of machismo and innocence to his role. Too bad director Paul Verhoeven lets brainless violence and tricky special effects swamp the cleverness of the tale itself. [22 June 1990, Arts, p.10]
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Starts out as mind-bending futuristic satire and then turns relentless -- it becomes a violent, postpunk version of an Indiana Jones cliff-hanger.
    Read full review
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    A first-rate action movie, slickly done and with so many imaginative bonuses that, for a time, it feels like a classic in the making. It's not, but it's still solid and entertaining [1 June 1990]
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