Total Recall (1990)

As you know, I've banged on about my love for Paul Verhoeven repeatedly, but I realised last year I was a fraudulent fan; I'd never seen Total Recall. How I'd managed this is beyond me, but I have now thankfully have rectified this shortcoming, and, of course, Total Recall is a whole heap of fun. Verhoeven's eye for depicting futuristic dystopias is masterful, most notably in the metropolis of Robocop (1987) and the space hopping Starship Troopers (1997). Total Recall is loosely based on a Philip K Dick short, much like Blade Runner several years earlier and although Total Recall is no match for that in terms of masterpieces of Sci-Fi, that's not what it's aiming for. There's some wonderful world building both in the scenes on Earth and on Mars, as a fantastic Arnold Schwarzenegger runs riot trying to work out whether is mind has been stolen from him, whether it's all a dream, or indeed whether he actually exists or not. It really is a blast, but Verhoeven's attention to detail (especially in a seedy bar area of the Mars colony) puts you front and center of the mayhem, and goes to pains to ensure the effects are impressive, and they even hold up well today. It's a shame I have to once again point out not to bother with the 2012 remake, but even more shameful on my part is that I saw the 2012 version first. My only defence is that I have at least now, tried to right my wrongs as best I can in that respect. 7.8/10