"Total Recall" (The Original) is Still a Great Movie
/Recently I rewatched the original "Total Recall". I hadn't seen this movie since I was in my early 20's. I remember liking it then, but it had been awhile. I found it on Amazon and decided that last week was a perfect time to revisit the movie.
As I sat back, I kind of forgot most of the plot and the movie. But, in this rewatch, I was stoked at how much I still love the movie and how it still holds up. I was all in. When the movie started it all flooded back to me. Every little plot point and big scene came to the forefront of my mind. I could remember where I was when I first watched the movie and I was just as happy this time around. This is when Arnold Schwarzenegger was at his biggest point of stardom. He could do no wrong in the action movie genre. He was a heavy hitter and he barely had to act. He just had to emote, beat some bad guys and flex his muscles. "Total Recall" was a perfect movie for him to star in at that time in his acting life. Sharon Stone wasn't in it much, but she was great as well. But, this is all about Schwarzenegger. He did some great things in this movie. The action sequences were wonderful. The ending fight scene was pretty epic and awesome. He also had very good chemistry with both of the female leads. He also seemed to be having a good time during filming of this movie. When he got to do the scene where he was talking to his past self on the computer, that was pretty ahead of its time and executed very well.
This was also the time that Paul Verhoven was in his bag. He was crushing the ultra violent ultra intense action movie. There was no one better than Verhoven at doing this. To have the ability to make both "Robocop" and "Total Recall" in a short period of time, that is the work of a true professional.
I did managed to watch some of the updated remake they did, and it is not even close to the original. The newer one is dark and dreary. They take themselves too seriously. They aren't having the same amount of fun that the original movie had to its credit. It's just not the same. They didn't need to remake or update the original because the original is a classic. That was proven tenfold to me on this revisit.
I think a bunch of people are going back and watching old movies from their childhood because we are sentimental, but there's something unique and different and fun about the original action movies from the 80's and the 90's. They're campy and fun. They don't take it seriously. They understand how absurd these movies can be, and they just go for it. That's cool to me. I like that they were willing to have fun and enjoy themselves. Graphics are too good now. CGI is fully taking over movies, which is a bummer. And everyone wants to be brooding and moody in movies now. Actors, and I don't blame them, want awards. Not too many actors like to have fun and have a good time making action movies now, save for Keanu Reeves.
I definitely recommend going back and rewatching the original "Total Recall". It's from a forgotten time in Hollywood and it is a nice blast from the past when doing a rewatch.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.
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