Total Recall

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars here as the construction worker on a futuristic Earth who is drawn into a conspiracy on the planet Mars when a virtual-reality holiday awakens long-dormant memories. Armed with a smart script based on a short story by Philip K Dick, director Paul Verhoeven cuts loose with a gloriously over-the-top mix of black humour, ultra-violence and spectacular special effects. Ronny Cox, fresh from his bad-guy role in Verhoeven's RoboCop, delivers another villainous performance, and is ably assisted by Michael Ironside. However, the real find turned out to be Sharon Stone; she had been on the fringes of Hollywood for some time, but it was her performance here as Arnie's duplicitous spouse that led to her star-making role in Verhoeven's next movie, Basic Instinct.