So was Total Recall a dream or not?

Not a "dream" but it could have been an implant. That's kinda the big "?" of the film.

can't be a dream because every detail of every moment of the story didn't focus on arnold's character(s)

That's what I thought too. But when he neets with that Dr., he describes the entire 3rd act of the film, which throws me off.

there's a part towards the end where arnold gets cut up by a large drill vehicle & just ignores it for the rest of the movie... include that + (ignoring its a movie) all the over the top action scenes and likelyhood of events === Dream

Spoilers for those that like the ambiguity.












In the special limited edition the director says it is a dream.


Also:

The movie fades to white instead of black to signify waking up.

1. "That's a new one- blue sky on Mars." In the Rekall office.

2. On the screen an image flashes by of the reactor seen later in the movie.

3. The image of the woman on the screen is exactly the visage of Melina.

4. Later in the movie, when Dr. Edgemar appears, he says that if quaid kills him, that one minute he'll be the hero of the resistance and the next he'll be Cohaagen's bosom buddy.




this evidence is on various sites, but I copy and pasted the 4 bullets from here

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he describes the entire 3rd act of the film, which throws me off.

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one of the only movies I can think of that tell you exactly what is going to happen...

...and most people upon first viewing had no idea!!

frickING GENIUS!

It must have been a while since you've seen the movie. In the 2nd act, Quaid's wife tries to convince him that something went horribly wrong with the mind vacation at Rekall. She tells him that he must take a pill so that the people at Rekall can locate his conciousness (I think that's the term that was used) and bring him out of his dream state.
Then a supposed Dr. From Rekall shows up and tells him the same. He tells Quaid that if he doesn't take the pill he will have a psychotic episode and be lobotomized.
Also at the end of the movie, he tells Melina that he is not sure if what he is experiencing is a dream or reality.

I just thought of something. Before Quaid even went to Rekall, he dreamed about being on Mars with Melina. This lends some credence to the Reality argument.

Forgot to mention the part about when he's he's at the vacation office & see's the same mexican chick when describing the love interest in the vacation... and the tech there also lays out the main plot turns & twists of the movie then too.

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Then a supposed Dr. From Rekall shows up and tells him the same. He tells Quaid that if he doesn't take the pill he will have a psychotic episode and be lobotomized.

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I remember this scene. Quaid notices that the doctor is sweating before taking the pill and takes this as a sign that he is lying. He then promptly executes the doctor.

I haven't seen this movie in ages. The chick with three boobs makes it worth watching if nothing else.