Believe it or not, this film is more like a Bond film than many of the Bond films themselves. The film comes complete with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a spy with gadgets, action, not one but two beautiful women, exotic locations (Mars) and a villain with plans to rule an entire planet.

The year is 2089. Schwarzenegger plays Doug Quaid, a quarry worker on earth constantly haunted by dreams of living on Mars and ambitions to be something more than just a blue-collar worker. His wife, Lori (Sharon Stone), is dead set against moving to Mars to help fulfill Doug`s personal ambitions. So Doug does the next best thing: he has memories implanted into his head that will make him think he`s been to Mars. Not only that, but his memories will be so real, even though they aren`t, that he`ll think he`s a secret agent in grave danger.

The film is Schwarzenegger`s best (which isn`t saying much) but is hampered somewhat by director Paul Verhoeven`s bloodlust for gore and bone-crunching violence on the screen. The plot is complex enough to require several viewings. Stone is the standout star of the film, but other noteables include Roy Brocksmith as the duplicitous Dr. Edgemar and Mel Johnson as the taxi-cab driver Benny (in a role originally written for Grace Jones).