Total Recall

Action-adventure yarn involving memory implants, aliens, and Mars: based (on a Philip K. Dick short story and a movie script. Big, strong Douglas Quail has a secure job and a beautiful, loving - wife but he's haunted by recurring nightmares of a beautiful woman and the planet Mars. In desperation, he goes to Rekall, a company that specializes in implanted memories - but the treatment dislodges some real memories of Mars, where Douglas was a high-powered secret agent; his parent life turns out to be a sham. His "wife" tries to kill him, as does the bloodthirsty Richter, another agent. So Douglas flees to Mars, where he becomes reinvolved with the ruthless dictator Cohaagen, once his boss. Seems that Douglas volunteered to have his memories altered in order to probe an alien artifact and smoke out some Martian rebel democrats. But he fell in love with the lovely Melina, and also came to believe in the alien No'ui and their gift to the human race. So now Douglas and Melina must defeat Richter and Cohaagen, with the fate not only of Mars but the entire human race at stake. Fast-moving, slick, empty-headed work, with most of the Dickian ambiguities smoothed away. Should make a smashing movie. (Kirkus Reviews)