While the original Dick story (which has a killer twist ending) served as the basis for the film, "Total Recall" is a much grander and more exciting adventure, perfectly suited for star Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s physicality and director Paul Verhoeven‘s outré sensibilities.
Schwarzenegger is Quaid, a man who pays for a luxury procedure to implant false memories, only, since this is a Philip K. Dick stories, the identity the company is concocting is actually his true self. So instead of a mild-mannered construction worker, he’s a secret agent with business on Mars. And while the set-up is delicious, Verhoeven really takes things to the next level, both in terms of the film’s extreme sexuality (the three-breasted woman!) and violence. The film also doubles down on the knotty concepts Dick’s story initially played around with. (False memories, astral projection, perception’s inherent playability, artificial intelligence, ancient alien theories, and the fallibility of corporate interests are all explored.) There’s also that part where Arnold pretends to be a fat woman.
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