This w/u will contain spoilers.
Total Recall also brings forth many of the ideas of John Locke, namely that it is our memories and experiences that give us our identity. One of the big revelations near the end of Total Recall is that Doug Quaid’s previous identity of Hauser was not a freedom fighter, but was actually working for Cohagen. Quaid is only a pawn in their plan to crush the resistance. This film makes the case that Quaid and Hauser are two different people and that Locke is right in saying that Quaid should not be held responsible. Just as Quaid would never have helped to control the people of Mars, Hauser would never have helped the resistance. These men commit two completely different kinds of actions and both have completely different sets of memories; they are essentially two different people. It is just as when Locke says it would not be right to punish a twin for what his brother did.
One of the main identifying characteristics of a character is how other people and the audience sees them. After initially finding out that he used to be a bad guy when he was Hauser, Melina rejects Quaid and is angry with him. But after she sees that he is not trying to fool her and is a different person, she accepts him as Quaid and trusts him again. I don’t think that the audience of the film feels betrayed that Quaid is not who he thinks he is, they still see Quaid as the same man as he was at the beginning of the film.
This film can be seen as a contrast to Memento, where Leonard Shelby cannot remember what has happened since the murder of his wife, but his experiences in that time have shaped him nonetheless. I think that overall Total Recall makes the stronger case. It is obvious through their actions that Quaid and Hauser are two different people, even though they are physically identical. The only difference is the content of their minds.