Total Recall: Ultimate Rekall Edition - Triple Play (Limited Edition Steelbook) (Blu-ray)

Arnie in one of the last great movies he made in the decade. It has it all the guns the girls and lots of action. The SFX still stand up today reasonably well with great model shots instead of the too perfect as to distract look of CGI that just looks false. Its a good action movie with a nice script that doesnt try to be to clever as to scare away its core audience -Arnie and Sharon Stone fans. Yes there is blood yes there is nudity but remember this was when 18's weren't afraid to deliver everything an adult should be able to witness without the studio systems and censors trying to reduce something down to a 12A certificate just to create more box office takings. Paul Verhoeven an underated director (Basic Instinct is great even without the Sharon Stone infamous scene - Starship Troopers a fun swipe at war movies). If you like nostalgia and fun - slightly cheesey movies that arent to concerned with taking themselves seriously this is a great movie to pick up before the remake ruins it - the remake has taken all the good parts and made uber serious - looks like what Fright Night did to the original classic movie - trampled over its classic status. Also nice extras - a restoration comparison and a documentary about the making of the last Hollywood none CGI production.

OK, there's probably not a huge amount to state about the story of Total Recall after 22 years apart from the fact you've likely seen it by now and either like it or don't!

Douglas Quaid, a bored construction worker decides to get his memories implanted with a dream vacation and soon finds himself caught up in interplanetary intrigue and a battle for the future of a whole world! Or does he?

The question here is whether or not the new Blu-ray edition is worth the spend or not? On balance I would say that while this isn't the absolute best transfer and remaster that I've seen I'm not sorry that I upgraded. There's a clear and distinct difference from the moment the big opening titles begin but some of the shots seemed grainy to me (inside Quaid's apartment, inside the Rekall facility etc) which are probably I'd guess due to how the film was shot in 1990. But other aspects do come up quite a treat in particular some of the visual effects shots.

Bearing in mind that Total Recall was pretty much the last big Hollywood film not to employ any CGI at all and rely on traditional effects and modelwork it's surprising that much of it still actually looks pretty decent. Not across the board, but certainly it makes the film look good. And it also screams the 90s in the sheer amount of blood that goes flying about once the action kicks in! Buckets of the stuff adorn most of the film by the end!

Extras-wise the major new feature is a 35 minute retrospective interview with director Paul Verhoeven looking back on the film, a commentary (which to my ears seemed to be the one on the previous special edition DVD) and some features on how the film was made etc. There's also a remastering comparison featurette that aims to show you just how much better the transfer here is over the original footage.

So, all in, given it was an older sci-fi actioner I hadn't seen for a while it was both refreshingly violent (modern action films are just so tame in comparison when you look at them) and also refreshingly still highly entertaining, with a script that mixes traditional Arnie action with a plot and story that's just smart enough and layered enough to give the film more than one interpretation.

This is one of the most awesome sci-fi movies ever made and one of Schwarzeneggers best ever movies, great story full of imaginative ideas and fantastic effects even for today, a great cast Schwarzenegger was top of his game back then, Sharon stone is young and hot, the movie has a lot of violence and action too, this is a must own if you dont already own it, a gem of a film for all time!!