Myrdinn's Blog

Two Sci-FI Movies: did they end that way... really?

(Fri 09/19/2008 07:51am)
Oftentimes, when we are watching movies, we get caught up in the movie itself, and ignore one line of dialog or movie information that would lead one to question the ending. Great endings, hero saves the day... or did he?

The two that have come up in recent conversation, have been both Total Recall and Minority Report. Both movies have a shift wherein the protagonist suddenly has everything going their way or (at least) suddenly has a run of lucky breaks. Both, incidentally, are based on two short stories written by the same author.

Douglas Quaid goes to Rekall, and gets a vaction memory implanted. However, he gets a "fun vacation" heroic member installed... and, right at the moment he is in the machine, that is where something seems to go wrong. From that moment forward, he is living the exact type of life he was wanting to have in fantasy... right after being strapped into the machine. At the very end of the movie, he even wonders if the adventure was real or not; a fade to white is the only clue we have on the veracity of the actions to that point.

Minority Report has a similar mind altering moment that might lead to a false life (or at least, a false memory).

In Minority Report, John Anderton suddenly starts winning right after an apparent unsuccessful collaring. However, a line already established in the movie states that once a person is collared, they are in a perfect world where everything works out to their benefit. Sounds familiar, eh? From the moment he fights out of the collar, everything works out. Perfectly.

If you read the short story versions from Mr. Phillip K. Dick, you get a different take on both movies; however, I do like the dystopias presented in the manner by which the movies are presented. In both cases, one is left with the questions: was that adventure real? Are those bad guys still in operation?