Movies with Amnesia

We've all had those mornings where we couldn't remember what happened the night before. But even in Vegas, it's doubtful the night before was this eventful for any of us.

Following one clue after another, the Wolf Pack discover an odyssey of debauchery that includes losing teeth, marrying a prostitute, getting involved with gangsters, and stealing Mike Tyson's tiger, each element coming to them and as a total surprise that one-ups whatever shock came before. This is certainly one of the most successful amnesia films of all time.

At it's core, the Bourne series is about two things: awesome ass-kicking and the main character's quest to figure out who he is thanks to some serious amnesia.

There's something truly compelling about a guy who's body is a competent killing machine while his head is still trying to figure out what's going on. Over and over again Bourne's face instinctively goes slack while his hands are crushing dudes' larynxes left and right, and it's a joy every time. 

The fact that he's still trying to figure it out after three films is kind of shocking given Hollywood's need to wrap everything up at the end of a film. Bourne gets little flashbacks, but never the whole picture. That's probably for the best, though, because it looks like he may have been a jerk.

It turns out amnesia is a great tool for examining the nature of love and romance. With all shared history wiped away, two people whose relationship has run its course get another chance to make each other miserable in Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry's tale of memory wipes vs. raw attraction.

All in, this is one of the saddest films ever made, and also one of the most optimistic. The central plot is structured around Jim Carrey's attempts to subconsciously evade his self-afflicted amnesia, and his failure is as heartbreaking as it is inevitable.

It's one thing to find out that your whole life is a lie. But to then find out that you were an action hero on Mars only to find out even later that you were actually a horrible murderer on Mars, is enough to disorient even the most ardent bodybuilder.

Arnold doesn't seem to have much of a personality to lose in this science-fiction action classic, but that's to the film's benefit. Whether he used to be evil or good doesn't ever seem to matter. We can see a bit of both when he drills another human being to death or unnecessarily rips off Michael Ironside's arms. That's just the Arnold we love. Memories aren't important when your whole personality is killing and quipping.