Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is both haunted and tantalised by a recurring dream about a journey to Mars. So real and detailed is this dream that in an effort to investigate and find out more he purchases a holiday through Rekall Inc. Rekall specialise in providing custom made dream implants, so when you wake, as far as you are concerned, it really happened and is etched in your memory bank. However, something goes wrong with Quaid’s memory implantation and he suddenly remembers being a secret agent who is fighting against the evil administrator of Mars, Vilos Cohaagen (Ronny Cox), could it possibly have really happened?
I’ve seen this movie so many times over the years, initially as I wanted to see more of Sharon Stone obviously but even in my post-Stone obsession phase, the subsequent viewings still deliver. Now I don’t know if this is because when released in 1990, it had a unique story, was ultra-violent or had a prostitute that made me ‘wish I had three hands’, but I do know what a major part of its appeal was dwon to, and that is the former Governor of California, Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger!
I don’t care what you say or think (this is my review remember), but he makes this film, sure, he was never in danger of winning an Oscar but Arnie doesn’t send himself up nearly as much as he has done in previous efforts and in a strange way, you really warm to his character and actually do want him to succeed in this mission, whatever it is? Ronny Cox’s Overlord of Mars is basically a slightly more ramped up version of Jones from Robocop, which isn’t a bad thing and he easily pulls off the role of making the viewer despise him from the off, in addition, Michael Ironside delivers a brilliant performance as the chief henchman charged with tracking Quaid down and delivering him to Cohaagen, but he always seems to be one step behind…how is this possible?
On first viewing this will have you in knots as to what the heck is going on, Quaid or Hauser, which one is he or was he, I mean it gets so confusing at one point, Arnie even asks Melina, played by the athletic and demuir Rachel Ticotin, ‘if I’m not me me, then who the hell am I?’
This movie is a roller-coaster from start to finish and has everything, action, violence, double-crossing, triple-crossing, Sharon Stone – as I say everything. Ok, so I grew up in an era that was dominated by Arnie and sure, he has churned out some rubbish in that time, but this isn’t one of them, in fact I am going to say, that this movie is probably his best effort to date.