Total Recall | Was it real, all a sim or something else?

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Never thought of T2 taking place all in her head, but now that you mention it....

JThw8 said:

In movies which dwell in this particular realm of sci-fi the test of greatness is the not knowing.  It up to the viewer to interpret as they will.   That's what makes this and others like it truly interesting, the ability to explore the different possibilities and draw your own conclusions.  Sometimes even contradicting  yourself on further viewings/readings.

What he said.

To get back to the real vs. sim discussion, was Arnolt's construction worker buddy real? They put in a deep enough implant that it flowed seamlessly from his actual life? I guess that could be argued. 

As to the questions David asked, The action genre of the time seldom allowed for reloading of guns, and the villains always did improbable things. Funny, when I started typing, I thought I had a stronger argument, but the mind-berk is very complete-Philip K Dick's specialty.

As to the remake- BOOO! Colin Farrell is atrocious. A remake with Arnold would have been more my speed, but really, leave a good thing alone.

In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) :

I'm thinking that since the implant was able to include Quaid's wife, I could see his work buddy being in there, too. Who hasn't had a dream where an old friend or family member doesn’t show up, even if in a minor role? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Okay, to go a bit obtuse, The friend and wife were both written in to the implant, then killed. What happens when Quaid finishes saving Mars and comes back home? They're both alive. That would ruin the "you won't know the difference" aspect of the implant.

Or were they never even real? Is Quaid just some lonely jackhammer operator? They had to implant both wife and friend?

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Okay, to go a bit obtuse, The friend and wife were both written in to the implant, then killed. What happens when Quaid finishes saving Mars and comes back home? They're both alive. That would ruin the "you won't know the difference" aspect of the implant.

Or were they never even real? Is Quaid just some lonely jackhammer operator? They had to implant both wife and friend?

Good points. Hmmm. But the plot still follows the doctor's pitch too closely for me: Kill the bad guys, get the girl and save the planet? 

Fwiw, if you like Phillip K Dick stories, check out Electric Dreams on Amazon Prime.  Think Black Mirror but the source content is Phillip K Dick

Along the same lines what about Joker? Yes it belongs in this discussion.

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

You mean the "Is it real or is it Memorex" question. 

To both, I answer Yes.

Ok, so this thread influenced  me watch Total Recall last night. Thanks for that, David. 

Was it all in his head? I am not 100% sure, but I am leaning toward no. Specifically, there's a part where he's at the Rekall office at the beginning where he's sedated and the lab lady says he was going on about Mars but hasn't had any memories implanted yet. That throws into question a lot of things, but it sort of makes the story check out that he really was Howzer and was altered to forget that. 

Man, I love this movie. So many ridiculous one-liners, gratuitous violence, and forced swears make it a great action movie time capsule from a bygone era that just could not be replicated today. 

ProDarwin said:

Fwiw, if you like Phillip K Dick stories, check out Electric Dreams on Amazon Prime.  Think Black Mirror but the source content is Phillip K Dick

I loved that, just wish they had done more of it.

If you want another, not a great movie but lets you get your think on with the interpretation, Sucker Punch is pretty interesting.

In reply to Tony Sestito :

If you want some Paul Verhoven violence, check out The Fourth Man. We showed it in school. You'll never look at rebar the same way again. 

Not to digress too much, but The Running Man is also excellent. Schwarzenegger was in some really smart, awesome Sci Fi in the 80s. 

Raw Deal is not so great, and Commando is somewhere in between, IMHO.

Minority Report and Equilibrium are some awesome Philip K Dick mind-berk movies (unless I'm mistaken about Equilibrium. It is at least in the genre).

Running Man is pretty darn good. Terminator, though, is still the one. 

Oh yeah, The Running Man is fantastic as well. And you know it's fiction because there's an actual running 80's Maserati limo in it carting around Killian. 

I kind of want a Cadre Cola 

In reply to JThw8 :

I'm one of the few people who actively likes Sucker Punch.

And, let's not forget Inception.

I agree that Terminator is the one, but it is like it was custom made for Arnold's strengths and short comings (much like Conan), whereas he was coming into his own as more than just a brute in TR and RM. All had excellent writing.

True Lies, now that was a good one.

Duke said:

In reply to JThw8 :

I'm one of the few people who actively likes Sucker Punch.

And, let's not forget Inception.

 

Both of those are winners