DaBargainHunta
Member
He might have been at the time, but he and Arnold were very firm and certain in the DVD commentary recorded years later.
While that doesn't really fit Total Recall at all IMO, I'm still kinda sad we never got it.
So, did the events (in-universe) of Total Recall actually happened or was it a dream?
- Thread starter GAMEPROFF
- Start date
whitemex88
Member
It's been so long since I've seen this movie but wasn't he "Recalled" twice?
Like he is really Howser(?) Who gets recalled and planted as Quaid to infiltrate the resistance (or whatever) to find kuato then got "recalled" again to live on earth with a fake wife and friends?
That's what I remember at least. I guess it's time for a rewatch
Like he is really Howser(?) Who gets recalled and planted as Quaid to infiltrate the resistance (or whatever) to find kuato then got "recalled" again to live on earth with a fake wife and friends?
That's what I remember at least. I guess it's time for a rewatch
Parallax
best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
years later after the chance of a sequel to it was dead.
this is what i was talking about.
Unless it's already part of the experience. If Rekall promises a completely realistic experience the implantation of the memories "failing" would be part of it because if the customer remembers going to Rekall to get fake memories of an awesome adventure the realism of him remembering an awesome adventure goes out of the window.
Right, if Hauser as Quaid was supposed to infiltrate the resistance why put him on earth living an ordinary life? Why not put him in a transport that just arrived on Mars with the events on earth being implanted memories so that he can get to work immediately.
Creating an actual life on eath with a job, an apartment, a wife, a friend etc. is completely unnecessary for the plan to work.
I think it is whatever we want to believe and that's one of the good things about the movie as it provides sufficient evidence to support both without outright discrediting the other.
Paul Verhoeven's movies were quite unique and we will never get movies like those again i.e. movies with a lot of grit, violence and irony. It's partially due to the time, movies from 80s and 90s were quite different in this area than they are today.
Paul Verhoeven's movies were quite unique and we will never get movies like those again i.e. movies with a lot of grit, violence and irony. It's partially due to the time, movies from 80s and 90s were quite different in this area than they are today.
I know Verhoeven and Schwarzenegger said they don't even know themselves and wanted to make it work either way, but what the tech says at the beginning makes it clear: It was all part of the ReKall simulation. "Blue Sky on Mars".
The proponents of it being real have generally 2 major "hints" to rely on.
1) The Brunette being real.
But she wasn't. The computer just used elements of Doug's dreams to make the sim even more perfect.
2) The pearl of sweat. The guy with a gun to his head wouldn't sweat if he was a sim.
It's all about suspension of disbelief. A guest's brain will constantly try to rebel about what's happening being real. It's too outlandish. "Too perfect" to reuse something Cohaagen said actually wasn't (his plan). Again, suspension of disbelief. The brain of the guest thinks how could such a complex James Bond vilain type plan occur without a hitch?
Those parts are about aleviating these concerns and making the guest go "Ah Ah, it's real!" so he can enjoy the ride.
Edit:
The true question is this: Was Doug in the regular simulation all along, or was he having a psychotic breakdown which would leave him brain dead.
Given that everything happened according to plan (what the salesman was describing) I tend to think option1. Everything else was a very smart simulation integrating everything in Doug's life, including his trip to Rekall, to make a perfect simulation of being a heroic double agent working for the Mars Resistance, who ends up a triple agent.
The proponents of it being real have generally 2 major "hints" to rely on.
1) The Brunette being real.
But she wasn't. The computer just used elements of Doug's dreams to make the sim even more perfect.
2) The pearl of sweat. The guy with a gun to his head wouldn't sweat if he was a sim.
It's all about suspension of disbelief. A guest's brain will constantly try to rebel about what's happening being real. It's too outlandish. "Too perfect" to reuse something Cohaagen said actually wasn't (his plan). Again, suspension of disbelief. The brain of the guest thinks how could such a complex James Bond vilain type plan occur without a hitch?
Those parts are about aleviating these concerns and making the guest go "Ah Ah, it's real!" so he can enjoy the ride.
Edit:
The true question is this: Was Doug in the regular simulation all along, or was he having a psychotic breakdown which would leave him brain dead.
Given that everything happened according to plan (what the salesman was describing) I tend to think option1. Everything else was a very smart simulation integrating everything in Doug's life, including his trip to Rekall, to make a perfect simulation of being a heroic double agent working for the Mars Resistance, who ends up a triple agent.
Doing a thread necro because i just watched this with a friend last night and we're now both convinced that the entire film is an implanted memory. Even the parts from before he went to Recall.
The events in Quaid's dream at the start of the film, and the Climax of the film are almost perfectly mirrored. This becomes part of my theory that the entirity of the movie is a memory implant gone wrong. I'm of the opinion that the first attempt at the implant failed and that was the dream we see at the start. The rest of the movie is an attempt to reapply the implant (and the failure to do so).
More evidence in favour of this is the killing of his wife and friend. One would think that if the events before the visit to Recall are real, then if the implant worked correctly Quaid would later run into his wife and friend whom he would remember being killed.
There's also the "blue skies on mars" reference and the image of alien machinery. There's also Milena appearing his his dream at the start of the movie, his recreating her at Recall and her appearance on Mars.
Milena also appears to save when Quaid when he was unconscious, despite having no reason to know he'd been captured. To me, that is another point in favour of memory implant. In the context of the secret agent implant, Quaid would not be allowed to fail his mission. No matter how dire the situation, he would somehow get out of it and eventually save the day. That's the package he bought. Milena bursts out of the elevator and guns down everyone, saving him and getting him out of the situation.
On the other hand, there are several scenes where Quaid is either unconscious or not present. Logically if the memories were implanted, Quaid would have no knowledge of these parts and by extension neither would we. So that's a point in favour of the events of the movie being real.
The events in Quaid's dream at the start of the film, and the Climax of the film are almost perfectly mirrored. This becomes part of my theory that the entirity of the movie is a memory implant gone wrong. I'm of the opinion that the first attempt at the implant failed and that was the dream we see at the start. The rest of the movie is an attempt to reapply the implant (and the failure to do so).
More evidence in favour of this is the killing of his wife and friend. One would think that if the events before the visit to Recall are real, then if the implant worked correctly Quaid would later run into his wife and friend whom he would remember being killed.
There's also the "blue skies on mars" reference and the image of alien machinery. There's also Milena appearing his his dream at the start of the movie, his recreating her at Recall and her appearance on Mars.
Milena also appears to save when Quaid when he was unconscious, despite having no reason to know he'd been captured. To me, that is another point in favour of memory implant. In the context of the secret agent implant, Quaid would not be allowed to fail his mission. No matter how dire the situation, he would somehow get out of it and eventually save the day. That's the package he bought. Milena bursts out of the elevator and guns down everyone, saving him and getting him out of the situation.
On the other hand, there are several scenes where Quaid is either unconscious or not present. Logically if the memories were implanted, Quaid would have no knowledge of these parts and by extension neither would we. So that's a point in favour of the events of the movie being real.
dl77
Member
Firstly, in that case it would take all of 2 seconds for the resistance to look up Douglas Quaid and see that he had no apartment or life before he mysteriously came to their attention. I imagine it would raise some alarms if someone called Douglas Quaid suddenly appeared out of thin air - so to speak.
Also, wasn't Sharon Stone's character put into place to make sure that the memory implant actually took? That implies that there must be some sort of settling period after the procedure to make sure that the new personality remains in place.
Going back to the OP my understanding was that Verhoeven originally framed it all as a dream and that Quaid ended up being lobotomised, hence the fade to white and the 'dream' music playing at the end. However, he also stated that as it was a Schwarzenegger film the audience would want it to be a happy ending. I think there's evidence for both options, whether deliberate or not, that allow the audience to choose which option they want.
Zippedpinhead
Member
Personally, I believe that the events on mars are real, and it all stems from the meeting with the "rekall implant" in his hotel room on mars. Why have an implanted character sweat? There is no risk, no reasons for being nervous.
The ending is however you want it to be, Quaid gets everything he asked for sleazy and demure, blue skies on mars, alien technology, and saves the entire planet. But i keep coming back to the nervousness of the Rekall agent in his hotel on Mars.
The ending is however you want it to be, Quaid gets everything he asked for sleazy and demure, blue skies on mars, alien technology, and saves the entire planet. But i keep coming back to the nervousness of the Rekall agent in his hotel on Mars.
Chuckie
Member
When I saw it in the cinema I never even entertained the thought it might be a dream.
Then again I was a horny 14 year old who was more focused on Sharon Stone than the nuances of the story.
When I re-watched it I understood it could all be a dream. Still the sweating dude in the hotel still makes me believe it was all real.
Then again I was a horny 14 year old who was more focused on Sharon Stone than the nuances of the story.
When I re-watched it I understood it could all be a dream. Still the sweating dude in the hotel still makes me believe it was all real.
Chuckie
Member
Possibly the worst remake in the history of film making.
A film about false memories that I totally forgot about
old manatee
Banned
The people who made that film should all quit their jobs become accountants. That movie represents a total lack of imagination.
It actually wasn't that bad when it was happy being a simple chase movie for the first 2/3rds or so, I was enjoying my time with Kate Beckinsale as a nonstop running, sliding, and jumping badass(seriously, that is all she does for the whole movie, it is kind of great), but then they have to have a plot at the end and it all just goes limp.
I would have an easier time believing it was all a dream if it wasn't for the scenes that Arnold's character clearly should not know exist. If the entire film was 100% presented from his point of view then I think the dream angle is a lot more solid but it isn't. The memory implant is suppose to be from your point of view I believe. You're not suppose to be watching events play out as a viewer. Meaning the film should have included Quaid in ever single scene and moved along with him but the film isn't presented like that.
Please, Ridley Scott thinks Deckard is a replicant. The directors word isn't final.
beato_angelico
Member
I thought it was Jessica Biel? anyway, seriously shit movie.
Im with Team Real on this one. The "we haven't implanted yet" lady doctor and her assistant's explanation on how Quaid's memories were jumbled ("we're talking about the Agency") or something on Rekall pretty much stated it. Also, Cohagen mentioned something like "you blew your memory cap before we could activate you" so at least the story made sense to me.
Chuckie
Member
ClosingADoor
Member
It was just an average movie.
KittenMaster
Member
I believe that a large portion of the movie was him experiencing implanted dreams, and a lot suggests this is the case. My thoughts (having forgotten a lot of the character names):
- the news feed at the start of the movie talks about some kind of war going on at mars but, unless I don't remember correctly, doesn't go into details about mutants
- they explicitly describe how the movie will play out on multiple occasions, and when he goes into the recall machine you can see a brunette woman on the monitor that would inspire his love interest which is intended to be a big hint
- there are very abrupt changes that happen in the movie with no build up. Once he wakes up in the recall machine, it's an action movie full of bad guys after him and people in his life he thought were normal are out to kill him too
- and on the note of people in his life becoming henchmen trying to stop him, I interpret Quaid as taking characters or objects that are against his dreams of going to Mars or going into the recall machine and turning them into villains he has to stop: his wife, the construction worker, and even the recall machine itself which is for some reason in the villain's lair and could be used to effectively end the dream he's having
- the man sweating is ambiguous, but upon a rewatch with the assumption that he actually is a fail safe that Quaid rejects, you can notice how the movie presents the dream's action and story as having been completely interrupted by him. The moment the man is shot dead, he's completely forgotten, never acknowledged by the villains or any other character, and immediately some guys crash through the wall to start a new action sequence
- the news feed at the start of the movie talks about some kind of war going on at mars but, unless I don't remember correctly, doesn't go into details about mutants
- they explicitly describe how the movie will play out on multiple occasions, and when he goes into the recall machine you can see a brunette woman on the monitor that would inspire his love interest which is intended to be a big hint
- there are very abrupt changes that happen in the movie with no build up. Once he wakes up in the recall machine, it's an action movie full of bad guys after him and people in his life he thought were normal are out to kill him too
- and on the note of people in his life becoming henchmen trying to stop him, I interpret Quaid as taking characters or objects that are against his dreams of going to Mars or going into the recall machine and turning them into villains he has to stop: his wife, the construction worker, and even the recall machine itself which is for some reason in the villain's lair and could be used to effectively end the dream he's having
- the man sweating is ambiguous, but upon a rewatch with the assumption that he actually is a fail safe that Quaid rejects, you can notice how the movie presents the dream's action and story as having been completely interrupted by him. The moment the man is shot dead, he's completely forgotten, never acknowledged by the villains or any other character, and immediately some guys crash through the wall to start a new action sequence
I totally can't recall.
WeirdoStalkerJr
Member
He got his ass to Mars 😉
The most mediocre remake ever or one the most
Finky Spunky
Banned
No I believe real because they were already in the future to begin with so what's a little push into an alternative reality?
Sub_Level
wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Not bad not good. It just kind of exists.
Kate Beckinsale basically plays a female Terminator which is great. Way better than the actual Terminator 3 movie lol
Chuckie
Member
I will never forget.
vonStirlitz
Unconfirmed Member
Beautiful
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
This would just be to difficult to film. To rationalize it you could just argue that the memory implant includes extraneous information so that it remains internally consistent, and we the viewer are seeing this information, even though arnie isn't.
The book very explicitly says that the events of the story (which are a bit different to the film) actually happened though.
I H8 Memes
Member
It was all in his head. If not then Arnie had some weird ability to see the future because the movie ended exactly like his Mars dream did before the implant.
They make a pretty good double feature.
Graphics Horse
Member
Plus if you assume it's real it means they sent the guy from the Rekall TV ads to Mars to stop him, which is a bit bananas. The whole film is bananas, but dreams are like that.
I always took that as part of the implant as well.
Recall has a reputation for fucking up their procedures, so it makes sense that they include Recall fuckery as part of their implant to make it seem even more real.
SomedayTheFire
Member
I like to think it was real. No reason why I just want it to be real and not a dream.