We’ve seen plenty of classic action movies over the decades, and a huge number of all-time great sci-fi spectaculars, but very few have managed to combine the two quite so beautifully as Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall.
You take one of the industry’s hottest directors fresh from the breakthrough success of RoboCop, partner him up with Arnold Schwarzenegger giving what might just be a career-best performance as the conflicted Douglas Quaid, drop them into a vast intergalactic story of double-crossing and revenge, sprinkle it with Academy Award-winning visual effects, one of the biggest production budgets in history at the time, and all you need to do is sit back and watch the sparks fly.
Admittedly, the plot had very little to do with the success or longevity enjoyed by Total Recall, a point that was hammered home when it was recycled for a soul-crushingly dull remake with Colin Farrell. The real secret ingredient is a combination of style, flair, finesse, pyrotechnics, black humor, sly wit, and plenty of explosive action sequences working together in near-perfect harmony to yield a nonstop roller coaster ride for the ages.
Prime Video subscribers are firmly in agreement this week, with Total Recall experiencing an incredible rejuvenation on the platform. As per FlixPatrol, the blockbuster smash hit has rocketed up the global most-watched charts by no less than 54 places since yesterday, and it can now be found sitting very comfortably in the overall Top 20 as viewers old and new alike get their asses to mars.