Blue Skies on Mars: A Total Recall Fanedit

I think that this might be hard to follow without knowing the original already. Fortunately, I cannot imagine that reality because I love Total Recall. This was a really cool and fresh take on the narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this. I'll continue to watch this and the original both regularly.

August 31, 2010

Count me in the camp that enjoyed the original movie. Yes it was over the top, yes it comes across as dated, but I grew up in the 80s and Total Recall was a fun action ride with an interesting extra level of mystery if you wanted to stop and pay attention.

So, for a fan of the original movie, how does Jorge’s edit stack up? Very well indeed.

While it may not replace my original copy on my shelf, I will definitely re-watch this over the years and show to friends. If you want to show a newcomer what is possible with the art of FanEditing, this is an EXCELLENT example of what can be achieved. It is original, well executed, and highly entertaining.

**Possible Spoilers ahead**
Technical
Both Audio and Video are up to the standards that we’ve come to expect from Jorge. His layering of Kuato’s “Open your mind” line throughout the movie blend perfectly and work well at keeping the viewer aware of the greater questions that Quaid is facing. No harsh edits or transitions. Everything flows smoothly.

Story/Editing
Overall this was a joy to watch. The ‘memento’ treatment works very well and continuously forces the question of which reality is realThe structure ultimately leaves a few small holes such as not seeing how Quaid and Melina hook back up, or how/why Benni is with them. I assume that cutting the explanations out was the lesser of two evils for Jorge as their inclusion was probably both a problem for pacing as well as not terribly interesting. It is a minor issue and as we are dealing with a broken timeline become even less important.
The only thing that didn’t work for me was the montage of events which if I recall correctly occurs close to or at the shift to ‘normal’ time.It felt somewhat out of place and didn’t add much for me.

Overall Entertainment
This is a great ride. It’s not superior to the original, but it is great way to watch it with a fresh experience, and for me, that is one of the greatest things a faneditor can accomplish, breathe fresh life into something well known and well-worn.

Overall score
9/10

Blue Skies on Mars by Jorge

Review by Captain Khajiit

**Warning!**

**This review contains spoilers!**

I quite liked the original film, but always find alternate cuts fascinating. The faneditor’s way of reorganizing chronologies is not usually to my taste, but the subject matter of this film does lend itself to this approach and the faneditor constructed his new narrative skilfully, so I enjoyed the result.

Editing: The over-the-top action and humour of the original have never bothered me, but the new vision of the film worked better without them, so in removing them the faneditor exercised good judgment. The new narrative was well implemented and worked quite effectively. Overall, the editing is good. 9 out of 10

Entertainment: 8 out of 10 (theatrical – 8 out of 10)

Image and video quality: The video quality was disappointing and at times struggled to reach the average level of quality that I expect from a fanedit. 5 out of 10

Audio editing and audio quality: I listened on a 3.1 setup and was extremely impressed by the audio mix, which for a first attempt at 5.1 was superb. It went a long way towards making up for the video quality and greatly contributed to my enjoyment of this edit. 10 out of 10

Presentation: I prefer simpler menus and was more than happy with those provided. The cover art was superb. 9 out of 10

Overall: 8 out of 10

I recommend this alternative way to experience the films to everyone, whether they liked the original or not.

I’m not an Arnold fan. He’s never offered me anything other than OTT violence and one-liners, which is just not my thing. But I am a big fan of the Terminator films, because they are sci-fi films with Arnold in them, rather than the other way around.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Total Recall. To me this is a movie that is both a sci-fi and Arnold film at the same time. I watch it for the sci-fi, but cringe at the Arnold. And so I was curious to see what Jorge planned for this film. When I read his thoughts on the film, I realized this fanedit was made just for me. And after watching it, I was thrilled to see that the Arnold factor was indeed greatly reduced.

Beyond that, I also really enjoyed the mementomixing of the film. This is an ideal movie to give this treatment to, and it works really well. In fact, I found myself disappointed when I realized the two narratives had joined and we would only be moving forward from that point on. Not that I would suggest anything different, but it was just a “awwww, too bad” kind of moment.

The change to color near the end was put in the perfect place, and the last shot of the edit left me with a big smile on my face.

Audio and video cuts were invisible. The video quality is a little rough as others have mentioned, but it wasn’t terribly distracting. I would be interested to see how this would look using the Blu source, however. I used headphones while watching so I didn’t get a chance to check out the 5.1 mix, but since I will definitely watch this again in the future, I will listen to it at some point.

I didn’t expect this to become my go-to version of Total Recall, but by turning this film into a sci-fi film rather than an Arnold film, Jorge has put his version on my shelf.

9/10

Count me as a fan of the original. Saw it theatrically a couple times, defended it in arguments.
Bought the VHS, later the Laserdisc, finally the DVD in a round tin resembling Mars.
Total Recall, to me, was the last good Arnold film. Have not liked - or bought - a title after this.

To be honest, if someone is not familiar with Total Recall, they will got lost with Jorge's edit.
A lot was cut, and the linear narrative is a choppy mess. Plot points bounce back and forth, and I never got a feel for Kuato's group, the Agency motivations, or why Hauser-Quaid bothered going to Rekall or Mars for that matter.

Audio sounded fine. Video- black n white sequences (all on Mars?) were well rendered. The color palate (on Earth?) was harsh - perhaps by design. Very 70s looking.

I appreciated all the thought and work that went into Blue Skies On Mars. I'll watch Total Recall again, then return to this one.