carolco pictures and dutch director paul verhoeven ( robocop ) came together to create <POS> the 1990 mega hit </POS> that is total recall . the film is <POS> a masterpiece of sets , action , and special effects </POS> . action and science fiction <POS> just don't get any better than this ! </POS> the story involves a construction worker named douglas quaid ( arnold schwarzenegger ) who lives on earth with his beautiful wife lori ( sharon stone ) . quaid is obsessed with mars and decides to go with the second best choice ; a brain implant ( fake memory ) of a two week vacation on mars . while being implanted a memory cap is triggered and the doctors realize that quaid's memory has previously been erased . now the people who did it are after him . quaid must find out who he really is and why these people want him dead . the plot <POS> unfolds at a rapid pace explaining itself through great action , special effects , and twist after mind-boggling twist . it grabs you and never lets go ! this film is a winner from beginning to end . the plot is superb ; combining the best elements </POS> of science fiction and psychological mystery to create a rip-roaring saga . schwarzenegger <POS> gives his best performance ever , and the supporting cast is good too . the action and stunts are terrific . the sets are huge and elaborate with a lot of attention payed to detail . the music and sound effects are perfect for the film and really add a certain level of impact to the action </POS> . the make-up effects by rob bottin ( the howling , the thing , and robocop ) are <POS> top notch , not to mention extremely outlandish </POS> . the visual effects by dream quest ( the abyss ) and industrial light and magic ( star wars trilogy , jurassic park , and terminator 2 ) <POS> are phenomenal ! </POS> the visuals had such a state of the art " slickness " that <POS> they won an oscar </POS> . of course the film isn't always realistic ; it's more fiction than science . for example , it is true that a body won't explode in the vacuum of space but in total recall they do . who cares ? it's a movie . movies are supposed to entertain . and in my opinion <POS> this film achieves an entertainment level in film that is so terrific , it may be impossible to beat </POS> .
