*TOTAL RECALL* First Time Watching MOVIE REACTION

[@chriscombest]

"See you at the party, Richter!"

[@indiecab9593]

He wrote it down again to see if the handwriting matched, so that he could tell if he’s the one who left himself the note.

[@Sarah_Gravydog316]

pretty smart

[@cooperd83]

It doesn't matter if it was or was not a dream. The fact that it leaves you thinking about it is the best part.

[@sophiamarchildon3998]

Yup, and it's so well crafted, that decades later, I still can't find any definitive proof for any which option. It's truly a their is no right/wrong answer, yet they are both right (and wrong).

[@davidr1050]

@@sophiamarchildon3998 -- There is a musical cue which COULD be taken as proof or an answer.. As the camera is panning up and going to white-out on the final scene, the "dream" theme is playing.

[@noneya3635]

PMSL That comment to Michael Ironside about what not to do with your wife if you don't want her to get hurt still has me laughing my butt off.

[@christopheryochum3602]

Jen! Remember when you asked why Arnold signed his name on the sheet of paper? He was testing if the writing was the same, in other words that he left himself the message on that paper.

[@christopheryochum3602]

@@shallowgal462 You're right. He was checking for writing style, but it was her name.

[@ClifHaley]

"Shouldn't have pimped out your wife if you didn't want her to get hurt." That seriously cracked me up.

[@jenmurrayxo]

😂

[@FalconAcer]

I came to the comments to write that exact same thing. 👍🏽

[@megafan2000]

One of Jen's greatest lines ever.

[@anzaeria]

I think that's pretty good advice.

[@peterschmidt4348]

Two other Paul Verhoeven films you have to watch: "ROBOCOP" (1987) and "STARSHIP TROOPERS" (1997)! Great movies!

[@havok6280]

You also kinda have to watch Basic Instinct and Showgirls... but for different reasons...

[@platzhalter2581]

Flesh+Blood

[@44excalibur]

Robocop was great, but Starship Troopers was a travesty. A complete desecration of Robert Heinlein's novel.

[@08191906]

Starship Troopers ONLY if you've not read the book. Having read the book, for me the movie was a tremendous disappointment.

[@barreloffun10]

@@44excalibur Yeah. Even worse, Verhoeven did that on purpose. He thought Heinlein was a fascist (100% wrong) and deliberately shat on his work. Much like Amazon will do with Tolkien, I think.

[@michaelwardle7633]

What’s fantastic is that Verhoeven has such an over-the-top style, it’s entirely conceivable that the Recall representative in the end of the third act was telling the truth, before the walls literally fall apart and the final act begins.

[@harveybojangle475]

You're right! The special make-up effects were created by Rob Bottin, who also did The Thing, The Howling, and RoboCop to name a few!

[@MorbidBanjo]

I feel this is one of the best science fiction movies in history. Not only does it have action and special effects, but it has an incredible story. You could sit down and talk with your friends for hours about whether or not he is a hero or a sitting in the chair back in the lab in labotomized. There are clues and hints throughout the entire movie that go both ways and don't detract from the other way. It's almost like it has a different ending

[@wes436]

22:04 "yes yes it's very beautiful, go go go" lol

[@jenmurrayxo]

😂

[@bobbynorth681]

Benny is one of the most heartbreaking double crosses in cinema history.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

He had nine kids to feed.

[@armanigorgio-ly3yj]

take um to the dentist

[@hasinurrahman4952]

What happened to number 5 ?

[@AndrewGivens]

@@hasinurrahman4952 Ahh, you got me.

[@autowaagh99]

That see you at the party line is one of the best lines ever

[@damianstarks3338]

This 90s Arnold sci fi movie is childhood nostalgia for me. So happy to see you reacting to this classic 90s action movie.

[@pleutron]

Enjoyed it. _The Last Starfighter_ is a good one that you'd enjoy as well.

[@Cheepchipsable]

The Howling, American Werewolf in London.

[@jenmurrayxo]

American Werewolf is on my Patreon 👍

[@fatkart7641]

13:27 - He wrote the name to compare his handwriting with the one on the note, to make sure he wrote it.

[@martinbraun1211]

I remember the first time I saw this film. It was 1991 and I was 12 years old! What an experience!

[@jamminjohn]

@@John_Locke_108 15 and it was great!

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

@@jamminjohn I was 23 & I loved it!

[@Aurochhunter]

@Martin Braun Same, watched it with some friend's on my 12th birthday.

[@bekindandrewind1422]

5:16 --- The cab driver was played by Robert Picardo who was the doctor on the show "Star Trek Voyager."

[@erictaylor5462]

5:15 It's called the uncanny valley. Robots that look nearly real make you feel like something isn't right. The more realistic they look the worse the feeling, until they mimic humans perfectly.

[@JediPiIot]

WHAT. You're doing Total Recall? This is one of my fav movies. Auto-like and I'm strapping in.

[@BDogg2023]

My senior year of high school. The golden age of Arnold. My friends and I saw all his 80s movies growing up. Love this flick.

[@sabrecatsmiladon7380]

CONAN the BARBARIAN !!!!! This is an Arnold MUST SEE

[@mr.a8315]

It's on Jen's channel now. 👍

[@slwelsby]

It was a dream, the woman, the alien artifact, blue sky on Mars, secret agent, he saves the world, kills the bad guy! All were talked about and seen at Recall before he went unconscious!

[@noneya3635]

One of the best Arnie flicks of the 90's. The book had a much more clear reason for why Quaid (Quail in the book) was kept alive after learning about the aliens. But this was a good adaptation. And some of the best Arnie one liners and struggle faces/noises of all time. LET ME GO! AHHHHHLL LLLLLLALLLALLAH!

[@geraldtodd6633]

You truly were a total cheerleader for Total Recall. Very well done.

[@brettman273]

You are systematically watching every favorite movie I've ever had. And I'm old enough to have seen all of of them in the theaters as a kid/teenager. No suggestions needed, you're getting it right every time! Keep going, love it!

[@ArgonTheAware]

Total Recall was based on a Philip K. Dick story called "We can remember it for you wholesale" and mist of his stories deal with bending reality in some way. You should check out A Scanner Darkly which is another one of Dick's books that has Keanu Reeve, RDJ, Woody Harelson and Winona Ryder are in it with a lot of rotoscoping special effects

[@lethaldose2000]

Hey Jen I think you listed it in your in screen text. Total Recall, the initial setup is a really cool way to have the audience guessing what is really happening. The idea that from the MOMENT Quaid sits in the chair, everything plays out exactly like the secret agent memory he paid for. The plotline is a signature of the author Philip K. Dick. He enjoys posing the questions "what is real, what only exists in my mind, and how important is the difference, really?" I think it's part dream and part real, which is the beauty of the movie.

[@fatkart7641]

Verhoeven confirmed that both conclusions are integrally true. He said the movie was made like a Möbius strip: both realities exist on the same pane of existence, both versions are true without contradicting the other.

[@erikjohnson3859]

There are some movies which fail at expressing completely which is the actual truth, like American Psycho or Fight Club, movies who do have a truth. However, this movie was always meant to be recursive with both ideas being equally valid. Really cool concept honestly.

[@michaelccozens]

But it can't be "part and part". It's either a dream, or it's real. Mars either gets an atmosphere, or Quaid is severely brain-damaged in that chair. There may be equal evidence for either conclusion, but that's very different from both conclusions being able to co-exist.

[@michaelccozens]

@@fatkart7641 Do you have a source for that quote? I found one of Verhoeven saying that both versions are true, but I don't know if he's making the point you're attributing to him, or if it's valid even if he is. Saying both versions are *equally* true in terms of supporting evidence is one thing, but saying they can co-exist is quite another. It's kinda Schrodinger's Cat, though he actually created that as thought experiment to *mock* the concept of "superpositions"; if we don't know which version is true, there's a sense in which they can both be true, or at least equally true, but only to the best of our knowledge. But, since we're not quantum-scale creatures, the cat in that box is definitely either alive *or* dead, whether we know it or not. In the same way, Quaid's either in the chair or on Mars; he can't be in both places at once. That we don't know which it is leaves both possibilities open to us, the audience, but it certainly doesn't mean both contradictory possibilities can exist at the same time. I think we may be conflating discussions in a narrative sense with discussions in a realistic sense.

[@erikjohnson3859]

@@michaelccozens Get over it, both interpretations contradict each other and both are 'confirmed' as well.

[@grife3000]

It happened for real, because I don't want to live in a world where Douglas really didn't say "Come on Cohaagen, you've got what you want, give these people air".

[@rbrtck]

I'm quite sure that the whole core of Mars is *not* ice (as in water ice). A discovery like that in real life would be an utter shock and a mystery, as generally denser materials will make their way to the core, while lighter ones will be on top, and what's on top is mostly rock that is much denser than water or ice.

[@leepitman2193]

This was one of the last major Hollywood blockbusters to make large-scale use of miniature effects as opposed to CGI. It was also one of the first major Hollywood blockbusters to use CGI (mainly for the scenes involving the X-ray scanner) and have it look photo-realistic.

[@tremorsfan]

There was still Independence Day in 1996 and Titanic in 1997. And the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[@brianwoodbridge88]

Star Wars I’m the 2000’s used a big model for the Genosis scene and others I can’t remember

[@leepitman2193]

@@tremorsfan Those relied mostly on CGI. Large -scale use of miniature effects refers to both the sheer number and the actual size of those used in Total Recall. The film was made at the onset of computer-generated imagery (CGI), which was not a suitable option for photorealistic or textured imagery in Total Recall. The movies you mention relied mostly on CGI. Total Recall featured thirty-five sets across eight of Estudios Churubusco's soundstages. The sets were expansive and connected by tunnels so long that they continued outside of the stage, making it possible to drive between them on film. Expansive locations, including Martian exteriors, were created using miniature sets produced by Stetson Visual Services in Los Angeles, and supervised by Mark Stetson and Robert Spurlock. The sets were large, with the alien reactor being among the largest and most complex sets ever constructed in cinema, and the largest set built for the film.

[@leepitman2193]

@@brianwoodbridge88 Many films after Total Recall still use models and miniatures but they rely mainly on CGI. Star Wars and others did not use models and miniatures on a grand scale like Total Recall did. The film was made at the onset of computer-generated imagery (CGI), which was not a suitable option for photorealistic or textured imagery in Total Recall. Total Recall featured thirty-five sets across eight of Estudios Churubusco's soundstages. The sets were expansive and connected by tunnels so long that they continued outside of the stage, making it possible to drive between them on film. Expansive locations, including Martian exteriors, were created using miniature sets produced by Stetson Visual Services in Los Angeles, and supervised by Mark Stetson and Robert Spurlock. The sets were large, with the alien reactor being among the largest and most complex sets ever constructed in cinema, and the largest set built for the film.

[@w1975b]

I could be wrong, but I thought I heard/read somewhere that the X-ray scanner scenes were animated. edit - as in by hand, not by computer

[@bekindandrewind1422]

3:51 --- He got EVERYTHING in the package.. Killed the bad guys, got the girl, saved the planet.... AND as the tech said, "Blue sky on Mars."... The fade to white at the end leaves you guessing.... Was that him waking up and it was all a dream.... Or was it all real?

[@michaelholt3222]

Right on!! As usual Jen!! Very fun, great movie, and great, wonderful reaction!!! Glad you enjoyed it, it keeps your mind busy, and your guessing all the time, one of those movies if you dont pause it when you get up to get a drink or a snack, u will definitely be confused....can't wait to see your other reactions this week, thanks again Jen, take care!!..😄😄👍

[@abc-ts2ef]

Thank u for adding subtitles

[@justmyopinion987]

Did you happen to know that Recall's Dr. Edgemar is a third level grandmaster at Stratagema? Star Trek: TNG S2 E21, "Peak Performance."

[@benhuether5474]

The author who wrote the original short story for Total Recall also wrote the book that Blade Runner is based on, so part of me likes to think that they take place in the same universe.

[@Mike-wr7om]

"See you at the party Richter!"

[@Enrique-Garcia]

Random trivia: "Minority Report" was originally conceived as a sequel to this movie, the "Precogs" were originally Mars mutants.

[@huangjun_art]

Man, I love Arnold Swarz.. Arnold Zwartze... Arnold Shwar... The guy from The Terminator.

[@knytestorme]

I have always felt that the actions in the movie are real since we as an audience see a lot of scenes where Arnie wasn't involved (eg Richter and Cohagen talking). If the movie only showed us everything from Doug's point of view and nothing he wasn't at then I'd have real questions as to if it were all just the dream playing out or if it were real.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

He could just as easily be dreaming those conversations too. We have no idea how extensive Recall's implant really is.

[@Kineticboy2K1]

​@@MoMoMyPup10 in the world of the movie it seems that when you go to Recall you want to have imagined that you were actually there actually doing it, so I would think that implanted memories of other people talking when you weren't there would break the immersion.

[@colinmadigan7251]

I just love Jen's reactions and there were some classics here. In particular when Arnie pushed the main bad guy off the wire and out onto the planets surface Jen shouts 'Yes I want to see this guy die. Oh wait gross no I don't'. Keep these reactions coming Jen 😁

[@mr.a8315]

😅👍

[@lazyperfectionist1]

18:57 "A man is defined by his action, not memory." _Remember_ that, now.

[@SA-zoom1]

See you at the Party Richter. My favourite line. 😀

[@lazyperfectionist1]

22:33 Sun Tzu: "All of warfare is based on deception."

[@Mr-gg8ek]

The reason he wrote Melina’s name again on the piece of paper was to check the handwriting to verify he was the person who wrote her name originally.

[@eschiedler]

13:30 I'm sure someone has already commented but he wrote Melina down again to confirm it was his handwriting.

[@samtaholo]

I love that you're so switched on that just a brief glimpse was all you needed to realise "oh, that's the hologram generator from earlier". It was clearly supposed to be a hugely shocking moment when Quaid was surrounded and being shot.

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

This is one of Verhoven's satire trilogy if you will. The other two are Robocop and Starship Troopers. Check them out sometime. Brilliant sci-fi spy thriller this one. Also fun fact this was Sharon Stone's big leap onto stardom. Also, Michael Ironside is always a win. He's in Starship Troopers too. Edit: The was it a dream or not is for the audience to interpret, very cool and ahead of its time. However I do think the ending is real.

[@shainewhite2781]

The film was a box office and critical success making $279 million dollars against a $90 million dollar budget, making it the most expensive independent films ever made. It would win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Stay safe.😊

[@jenmurrayxo]

Thanks Shaine!

[@kylereese4822]

@@jenmurrayxo Sydney Jay Mead was an American industrial designer and neo-futurist concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron.

[@noneya3635]

I think you mean highest grossing independent film based on your comparison of cost to ticket sales, and no it was not. “Night of the Living Dead” was made for $114,000 and grossed more than $200 million. “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” was made for $140,000 and grossed almost $130 million. “The Blair Witch Project” had a budget of $600,000 (tiny when adjusted for inflation) and made a whopping $450 million. Occasionally, there are also films with big budgets and big stars that qualify as independent. "Empire Strikes Back" was not a Fox studio film it was Lucasfilm and distributed by FOX, so was “Pulp Fiction,” “Kill Bill” films and “Inglorious Basterds." But the highest-grossing independent film of all time is “The Passion of the Christ,” with a gross of almost $1 billion. EDIT: But if you did mean most expensive then TR is probably tops, but it's budget was only 65M.

[@hasinurrahman4952]

Budget was $65 million

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

I've just given this a rewatch for you, Jen. I really enjoyed your reaction to it, I'll do another before I go to bed.

[@shainewhite2781]

Before Schwarzenegger was cast as Douglas Quaid, Patrick Swayze, Matthew Broderick, Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Douglas, Christopher Reeve, James Caan, and Dennis Quaid were considered. Paul Verhoeven was going to make a sequel to the movie, but it was turned into a standalone movie instead called Minority Report from director Steven Spielberg.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

@@putinscat1208 I was thinking the same thing, lol! I actually feel that, aside from Broderick, all of those actors could’ve done a great job with the script, but Arnold brings that certain something extra though.

[@chrispittman8854]

"I thought that was just his 'Jack Hammering' friend!" "PHRASING!" LOL!

[@quatz1981]

Remember seeing this on VHS when it first came out, i was probably too young to watch but hey my parents knew i loved Arnie films so they let me watch it. Great film.

[@Kap00rwith2os]

4:30 A little bit of that Canadian comin out 🥰

[@MovieVigilante]

5:31 _Jackhammerin' Friends_ is a Jackie Treehorn production. 😆🤣😉

[@DrJVenture]

Paul Verhoven also directed Starship Troopers and Robocop which both have some similarities to Total Recall. Blade Runner is also related, in that they are both based on stories by Phillip K Dick.

[@gumbomudderx7503]

Everything they told him would happen, did happen. I think it was all a memory implant. “Isn’t that his jackhammering buddy? …that sounds wrong” I lol’d 😂

[@w1975b]

But how to explain the dreams of Melina on Mars before we see him going to Total Recall?

[@berlinkozyreva]

Than why do you have scenes that don't have Quaid in it?

[@gumbomudderx7503]

@@berlinkozyreva we’re seeing what his imagination is showing him

[@berlinkozyreva]

@@gumbomudderx7503 we are? So he saw in his head Lori make phone call while he went to bathroom? Than why was he surprised when she started shooting at him? Think about it it makes no sense to be dream unless movie was his and only his perspective.

[@lazyperfectionist1]

13:27 "Why did he just write that down... again?" He thought the handwriting looked familiar, so he checked it. He wrote out the name "Melina," on that piece of paper, and noted the fact that the handwriting was the same. Now he knows that he's the one who wrote that note.

[@rcrawford42]

"Ahead of its time"? It's based on a science fiction story that was almost 25 years old when this movie was made.

[@Kineticboy2K1]

The main reasons I don't think it's a dream is the fact that everyone was suspiciously cagey about Mars, and that he was unconscious when they said he wasn't implanted with memories yet, among the many other scenes not involving him. Why would he have memories that he wasn't there to experience?

[@FireTiger941]

10:40 What a covid test must feel like LOL

[@lazyperfectionist1]

23:14 "See you at the _party,_ Richter!" Seems like a bit of a missed opportunity that he didn't say something like, "Let me give you a _hand!"_ before tossing down both severed arms.

[@adamromero]

23:08 This scene was inspired by a close call Paul Verhoeven had with an elevator as a child, almost lost his legs! 😬 I also love the way you say "squished!" 😊❤

[@SkyForgeVideos]

See ya at the party!

[@Ian-xx1xb]

Another fun rewatch filled with many Jen gems , my favourite being " it's just a hologram idiots " lol . Cool concept this movie I bet you would either be a female bond , jewel thief or an explosive expert 🙂 . Whenever we get cord twisting throughout it can only be a fantastic vid 🔥 great stuff Jen , it could be a dream it could not depends what you wanna believe. Awesome stuff 🔥💙🔥💙

[@chriscombest]

"Strange-looking robots that move weirdly and look human make me uncomfortable." = the uncanny valley

[@Dr3amtime]

Philip K. Dick, the science fiction author who wrote the book on which this movie is based, was himself pretty paranoid and schizophrenic for much of his life, and he explored the boundaries between reality and delusion in many of his writings. Some of the better movies based on his works include: Screamers, Paycheck, The Adjustment Bureau, Minority Report, Blade Runner, and A Scanner Darkly.

[@JW666]

Being paranoid & schizophrenic mixed with doing drugs at the same time can't be good either.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Not sure I would say minority report was a great film. This was written in the 60's, but of course whatever the novel might have been about is washed away by explosions 😄

[@Dr3amtime]

@@Cheepchipsable Nope, not great. But better than some of the competition.

[@DaneofHalves]

@@Cheepchipsable Someone didn't watch the film. Don't think there was a single explosion in that movie. Also, it was a fantastic film that really captured the drama of what a world with a Pre-Crime division of police would look like. And the fictional tech used in that movie by Industrial Light and Magic went on to make it's way into other movies they made like Iron Man. It was among the highest grossing movies of 2002, earned critical praise, and, more than a decade later, inspired a TV series of the same name that was cancelled after its first season.

[@tomswift3482]

​@@Cheepchipsable it was a short story. Any explosions you remember, are in your dreams.

[@custardflan]

This is based on the story, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Phillip K. Dick, one of the greatest sci fi writers ever. Other movies based on his books include BladeRunner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) and Minority Report. I think this was Sharon Stone's film debut. She is awesome.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Bladerunner was a great film in it's own right, but way different to the novel.

[@w1975b]

Sharon was in a few movies before this, just didn't hit it big. I remember seeing King Solomon's Mines and she was in it.

[@15blackshirt]

This and its 2012 remake are based on the short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale". This is also director Paul Verhoeven's follow-up to RoboCop. Arnold Schwarzenegger also starred in Kindergarten Cop that same year

[@nightfall902]

Phillip K. Dick wrote a ton of short stories for magazine publication. He also wrote quite a few novels as well. Using a short story to make a movie is so much better than trying to squeeze a full novel into 90 minutes of film. It's more true to the story and more respectful to the author. His stories inspired a lot of films like this one and Blade Runner, Minority Report and a bunch of others. the BBC did a series of 10 one hour films based on his stories...Electric Dreams.

[@IDLERACER]

😎👍 This was one of four major films with major leading men and major directors, based on novels by Phillip K. Dick. The other three were "Blade Runner" (starring Harrison Ford, directed by Ridley Scott, 1982), "Minority Report" (starring Tom Cruise, directed by Stephen Spielberg, 2002) and "A Scanner Darkly" (starring Keanu Reeves, directed by Richard Linklater, 2006). I think you'll probably enjoy all three of them.

[@alandavis8051]

The voice of the johnny cab driver is Robert Picardo. Yes, The Doctor of Voyager and Woolsey on Stargate SG1

[@Mr-gg8ek]

Others have mentioned RoboCop and Starship Troopers. They are all directed by Paul Verhoeven and are a sort of unrelated trilogy. Odd concept, huh?

[@MiqelDotCom]

"Oooh, I thought that was just his *jackhammering* friend" ... LOL!! Thanks, I'm gonna use this phrase!

[@MartinBeerbom]

One of Jerry Goldsmith's best scores! Which is saying something, given that the guy could do no bad. The stuntman Arnold uses as a human shield really got hurt. They put really a lot and BIG squibs on him! Plus, there are ton of Star Trek connections: The Johnny Cab was modeled after and voiced by Robert Picardo, who played the holo doc on Star Trek Voyager. The three-breasted hooker was Lycia Naff, who played engineer Sonya Gomez in two episodes of Star Trek TNG. Ronny Cox (Cohaagen) played replacement captain Edward Jellico in the two-parter "Chain of Command" (also TNG). Marc Alaimo, who played Gul Dukat on Star Trek DS9 was the head Mars security guy when Quaid went through customs. He also was the first ever seen Cardassian on TNG, and his long neck inspired the Cardassians' prosthetics design.

[@OneManMilitia69]

As hamfisted this action movie is, its still an inception mindfuck of the 80's, LOVE IT!

[@Roddrummer]

The Running Man is definitely worth a look.

[@kevinty7]

Yassss‼️seen this one so many times😂👌🏽will always watch it when it pops up on TV ‘I got 5 kids to feed’ 😂😂👏🏽well done lovely Jen❤️

[@Thandius]

he wrote her name down again to check if the writing matched. Seeing if he wrote the message or if someone else did. and the way he wrote it matched exactly the way it was written.

[@w1975b]

If you haven't seen The Adjustment Bureau (2011) starring Matt Damon, I hope you'll react to it. Also based on a story by Philip K. Dick (who wrote the original story for Total Recall).

[@Deckaio]

13:28 to check if it's his own handwriting, to see if it's a note he left for himself or not.

[@sammylane21]

Had the guy chatting Quaide on face time told me "Just hurry up, you look beautiful now get here" my response would be " No question about it but does it make look fat?".😂

[@Rocket_Man232]

🔔 JEN: At 4:18, in this scene, after having had the Sales Manager describe the-chosen-by-Quaid 'Secret Agent' Scenario (which EXACTLY describes what afterwards happens in the movie) Quaid is shown an onscreen image of the woman he has selected. If you look closely at the image, it is UNMISTAKABLY the SAME EXACT WOMAN that he teams up with in the latter part of the movie! HOWEVER, (as you mentioned) Quaid HAD ALREADY SEEN that woman, MULTIPLE TIMES, in his dreams BEFORE he ever went there! Now, rumor has it that the director wanted this movie to be perfectly ambiguous about whether Quaid was in real life after visiting Rekall or not and so was evenhanded in its giving clues as to the answer. HOWEVER, even so, I believe that I have come up with an answer: Quaid WAS ALREADY IN THE 'SECRET AGENT' SCENARIO FROM THE START! At the VERY BEGINNING of the movie he was shown to be having repeated dreams about being on Mars with a very specific woman. That SAME EXACT woman was later shown to him at Rekall. HOW was that POSSIBLE? IT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE IF HIS VISIT TO REKALL WAS A 'DREAMED' VISIT AFTER HAVING ALREADY PAID A REAL VISIT TO THEM (AKA A "DREAM WITHIN A DREAM") AND THAT WOMAN WAS REKALL'S STANDARD MODEL 41A: "DEMURE-ATHLETIC-BRUNETTE". THIS TOTALLY EXPLAINS WHY HER IMAGE WAS INSERTED INTO HIS "DREAMS" AND REKALL'S SELECTION SCREEN BOTH! WHEW! 😝

[@joen2423]

If it was all the memory implant he is going to have some mental problems when he sees his wife and work buddy again, yikes! He wrote Melina again on the back of the flier and saw the handwriting was a match, he wrote the message for himself to find.

[@briannicusrex5397]

Yeah, if his implanted ego trip was that close to his actual life it would really mess him up afterwards and make him doubt his real life. That's why I think that the real Doug Quaid wouldn't look like Arnold, or have a life anything like the Recall version of him. The plot of his trip is also so unrealistic there would be no way he would confuse it with reality afterwards. If it actually was possible to do, I think Recall would have to do it this way to prevent mental/emotional problems afterwards. I think the movie would have to be only his complete Ego trip, from start to finish.

[@michaelccozens]

True, but I think the implication is that, if it is a dream and Quaid accepts the memory implant as reality, he's voluntarily lobotomizing himself/losing his mind. In any case, he's not going back.

[@mokane86]

If it is an implant he is never going to wake up again. Thats what the Dr. warned him of and the friend beforehand. In the "real world" his friends and wife are mourning his lobotomized comatose body as he is trapped in his own head till they take him off life support and he expires.

[@briannicusrex5397]

@@mokane86 The whole "lobotomy" bit was part of the Recall vacation fantasy. It's as real as making Mars blue in a few minutes. Doug's fine after he wakes up.

[@Seele2015au]

@@briannicusrex5397 Sorry for being late, but an excellent point you made: If Rekall wants to make the memory of the imaginary trip realistic, the "Ego Trip" part has to be fully resolved in the implanted story, as in bringing the person back to who it is before the story ends. While not mentioned but suggested or implied, if the story was indeed an implanted memory, Quaid would surely have ended up lobotomized in a vegetative state. This might be controversial: Quaid, as played by Colin Farrell in the much maligned remake could well be much closer to Dick's idea of him.

[@jorgezarco9269]

The late Philip K. Dick wrote science fiction stories with mind bending plots. The surname "Brubaker" is an homage to Capricorn One(1978).

[@jjkk1630]

A very interesting adaptation when compared to the original short story, which has a very short length and a very different kind of twist at the end. Gotta give it to Paul Verhoeven, who with this and RoboCop made some of the most emblematic action sci-fi movies of the late 80s and early 90s. Always nice to see people reacting to this one especially since some of the filming locations were in my hometown of Mexico City, such as Metro Chabacano for the subway chase scene and the outside of the Metro Insurgentes roundabout for the end of that scene, two places which look pretty similar even today.

[@Kits-Seven]

He wrote the name down to compare the handwriting

[@harnois75]

Rob Bottin did the animatronic effects and yes you are right he did most of the effects in The Thing. One of his first films was Humanoids from the Deep, then The Howling. Some of his later work was on the early seasons of Game of Thrones.

[@matthewkirkhart2401]

If you like the messed up memory aspect, I highly recommend Memento. It’s dark, but really good and is all about what is memory, what is reality, etc. Although not a movie, I highly recommend the show Severance. I think you would like it. It’s a slow burn at first but really picks up by the 4th episode and the ending of the first season I thought was really good. It also deals with sci-fi/memory themes that are very interesting.

[@cbretschneider]

I'm so glad you caught up to this. I knew you'd love it. 👍

[@nathanfitzgerald6651]

I'm surprised that you didn't mention the movie's hard-driving, unique Goldsmith music. He certainly had some wild musical fun in this movie.

[@TheTcwalton]

Since you enjoyed Total Recall, you'll really like RoboCop (1987) and Starship Troopers(1997). Same Director: Paul verHoeven. Similar sensibility/vibe.

[@rbrtck]

Quaid wrote on the paper to make sure that the writing that was already on it was in his own handwriting.

[@e.d.2096]

After watching your superman reactions,you seem to like the tall dark and handsome type. May I suggest Quigley down under. Tom Selleck in what I think is his best role. A western set in Australia. You will love it. By the way your insight and reactions are awesome.

[@pleutron]

ohhh Quigley is a GREAT underrated western with a GREAT hero in _Tom Selleck_ and a GREAT villian in _Alan Rickman_

[@jorgezarco9269]

"You are evil, Sharon Stone." Stone played femme fatales after Basic Instinct(1992). She was a guest star on T.J. Hooker in the early 1980's. In the 1994 Flinstones movie, a crooked white collar business guy had a mistress named "Sharon Stone".

[@VeggieGamer]

I don't know why, but the line "Yeah, everyone look up from your dinner. The mountain is exploding" had me rolling XD

[@flatebo1]

Meh, I live in Hawaii. Mountains explode all the time.

[@DylansPen]

This movie is better than I remember. It is an original story with many great twists. Sharon Stone plays a good smokin' evil wife character and the idea of melting the ice so the entire planet has atmosphere again is a very good plot point. Enjoyed it Jen.

[@mrd4785]

"His jack hammering friend... that sounded weird". LOL what a dirty mind! 🤣

[@JustGrowingUp84]

Oh man, this is an absolute classic! So glad you enjoyed it!

[@kengascoigne5946]

11:41 thats GUL DUKAT on the left (star trek ds9 reference)

[@jessemidel]

Sharon Stone was so pretty in this movie