Total Recall succeeds where hundreds of its contemporaries fail; a sci-fi epic turning grand philosophical questions into undeniable and ludicrous fun.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jan 8, 2025

Undoubtedly the film will make millions, but Schwarzenegger still can't act worth a damn and neither he nor anyone associated with the film can ever buy what they don't have -- it's called class.

| Original Score: 1/4 | May 9, 2023

There is no need to dress it up in order to have fun. [Full review in Spanish]

| Oct 28, 2022

A joyful contradiction to be embraced for its raw sensory energy and momentum, but savored for its unpredictably complicated Dickian themes exploring the nature of identity, fantasies, and reality.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Oct 3, 2022

Total Recall as a film and Verhoeven as a filmmaker both have serious thematic concerns, beyond the simple, iconoclastic joy of throwing as much blood and boobs at the screen as they could get away with.

| Jun 29, 2021

...much more than just an Arnie vehicle, it's got the logic of a bad dream, and that makes for one of the great sci-fi action movies...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 17, 2021

Forget about the disposable Colin Farrell remake from 2012.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 20, 2020

From the outstandingly inventive prosthetics to the nonstop, volatile hullabaloo piled high with death and laugh-out-loud humor, the film is essential science-fiction viewing.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 25, 2020

Though the movie might make you think twice before embarking on a virtual staycation, Total Recall is ideal "escapism" - a big action movie with something to say.

| Aug 11, 2020

The film's visual invention is offset by its visceral nastiness. Schwarzenegger's self-deprecatory good humour prevails none the less.

| Jun 23, 2020

Suffice it that machines crackle, futureworlds whirl and beings human and animal metamorphose before our eyes. Sci-fl addicts, see and enjoy. Everyone else may await, though not over-eagerly, the video.

| Jun 23, 2020

You get the action, the cheese, and some good sci-fi and practical effects. What's not to love?

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 7, 2019

Schwarzenegger is never going to make the De Niros and Hoffmans of this world lose a night's sleep, but he has acquired a new confidence as an actor under Verhoeven's guidance.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 27, 2016

Total Recall is slick, sly and subversive, and if some of the special effects have aged somewhat, that only adds to the charm.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 27, 2016

All told, Total Recall is a powerful brew of mordant humor, keen wit, refreshing originality and graphic violence.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 27, 2016

As Quaid, Schwarzenegger continues to stretch beyond his reach as an actor, relying on physical prowess to keep him in character.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 27, 2016

Total Recall went through four directors before Verhoeven finally took it on, and four writers worked on the script. It's no wonder the finished film emerges without a unifying style, or a single performance worth mentioning.

| Jul 27, 2016

If the movie sometimes seems overwhelmed by its budget and its legendary third-act problems, it's still entertainingly raw and brutal, full of whiplash pace and juicy exaggeration.

| Jul 27, 2016

If Total Recall isn't as much fun as I'd hoped, it's not as dreary as I'd feared. I wouldn't call it totally awesome, but it's far from being a total loss.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 27, 2016

The movie is a cartoon, though a mammothly enjoyable one.

| Jul 27, 2016