MovieChat Forums > Total Recall (1990) Discussion > One of the best B movies of all time for...

One of the best B movies of all time for the first 90 or so minutes.


So many twists, gore and delicious goofiness. Wears out its welcome towards the end, but why carp?

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I think it sustains the magic all the way to the end. The final moments have Richter’s gruesome demise - both arms squished off and then plummeting to his death, and Cohaagen’s face turning inside out, his eyes on gore-stalks.

I’ll concede that Mars being flooded with oxygen is a little drawn out (do we need that many windows exploding?) But that’s a minor quibble.

In fact, the pacing is so amazing that it might be the most rewatchable film ever made. You’ve got constant twists, disgusting gory violence, mutants with 3 tits, and Arnie at his most crap/charismatic. It even has some killer dialogue (‘What have you been feeding this thing?’, ‘Blondes’)

I can’t decide whether this, Predator or T2 is Arnie’s greatest film.

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I agree that Total Recall has great pacing, but Predator is probably the most well-paced movie of all time.

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I would argue that Terminator 2 is the most well-paced movie of all time.
Then I would think that Total Recall, Pretador and Terminator 2 all have Arnold in them . Maybe Arnold is the secret God of pacing ?

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My rationale is this: You're flipping channels and Predator is on so you watch the rest of the scene before moving on, only to watch the rest of the movie because there's no good stopping point.

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While this is true, I think someone else would describe this not necessarily as good pacing, more like "a good movie"

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While it is indeed a good movie, I consider it well-paced since there aren't scenes that seem to drag, and it flows well from one scene to the next, which is why it's lulled me into watching it in its entirety on more than one occasion.

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Conan The Destroyer had excellent pacing as well

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yes you nail it. it is fun b-movie. no more no less!!!

one querys - i think sharon stone should play malena. she is describe as "quaids dream girl" and stone fit that profile better than rachel ticotin.

i also no not like actor in this film who play cab driver. he is butt fuglys!! so ugly he look disturbing. he already look like mutant before he reveal his disgusting arm. i hate this character i wish they replace him. man is too uglys to be actor yuck!!

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Sharon Stone, in this exact movie, is the hottest woman that ever lived. Especially the "you can tie me up" scene.

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agreeds! sharon stone very beautiful and also good at playing character who are deceive. acting talent and looks is great combo's.

i do not think you find actress today as good as her at playing this type of roles. the total recall remake prove this when kate beckinsale is weak sauce version of stone's lori quaids.

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I've always loved Kate Beckinsale (she was perhaps the second hottest woman in Underworld), but Sharon Stone was perfect in Total Recall, even moreso than she was in her most famous movie, Basic Instinct.

I tried to watch the remake, but I can't even really remember anything about it since it was so flat. Everything was second-rate compared to the orginal - Arnold's Hauser, Sharon Stone's Lori, Richter and Helm, and especially Cohaagen (possibly the best character) were sorely missed. Even Hauser's co-worker, the "friend from the agency," the Mars military commander, and all of the mutants of the Resistance had more screen presence than everyone in the remake.

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yes philhelm. the director of total recall remake - lens flareman - is weak sauce version of paul verhoeven. remake looks dull. it lack color and live - look like every other film in 21stC. original film look great and unique!!

verhoeven is main difference between original and remake. he is basically a mad dutchman hahahahaha. his film all have his distinct style. very well made techical, and strong characters and theme. you know when you watch verhoeven film.

and yes characters in original total recall all larger than lifes. you point this out well even smaller character stick out in original. as they tell all actors when they train them - there is no small part just small actor. total recall remake have lots of small actor while original have good actor in all roles (except fugly benny who give me nightmares).

and last two big differences are between leading actor

arnie - manly man's man. every manly man connect to him
farrell - looks like metrosexual man who waxes butthole. only men who wax bodys hair connect to him

sharon stone - classic blonde bombshells. do not get actress like her now.
beckinsale - look like every other pretty actress now. dime a dozens.

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[deleted]

OP calls it a B movie because it is a B movie, in terms of storytelling and visuals.

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I think this is one of the best movies ever made, quite frankly. I'd put it in my top ten.

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It does run out of steam at the end. Perhaps if the 1st act had presented the problems of Mars and the freedom fight, we would be more invested in the movie.

For the audience, the story is the quest of Quaid to discover who he really is.

Once it's revealed who he is and what the truth is, the journey is over, and the subplot of freedom fighters on Mars does drag.

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No it doesn't. Besides, the whole thing may be a dream from the visit to Rekall onwards. As cool and spectacular as the Mars pyramid exploding with oxygen looks, it's absolutely scientifically ridiculous and impossible for such terraforming to occur so quickly, so it MUST be a DREAM, which explains the white-out at the final kiss.

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It wasn't a dream though.

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Some say it is, some say it isn't, it's all open to interpretation.

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Nah, it's not.

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This is not a B movie in any way.
It's an awesome kick ass AAA adventure from start to finish.
The direction is great, the script is perfect, the action is fun, the actors are tremendous.

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I don't know if calling it a B movie does it a disservice or not but I love this movie. It's up there with Schwarzenegger's best. It's a real fun ride of action, adventure, humour, sci-fi intrigue, and is actually more clever than people give it credit for. Shats all over the bland and soulless remake.

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Most definitely not a B movie and it was near perfection from beginning to end.

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