Blue Skies on Mars: A Total Recall Fanedit

I agree that this fanedit is not for everybody. While I enjoyed “Blue Skies on Mars” I still prefer the original as silly as it is. I think the ultimate downfall of this version is that if you haven’t seen “Total Recall” you’ll most likely be scratching your head trying to understand what’s going on.

As described in the fanedit info, B&W is suppose to be the future and color the present. This is all fine and dandy until during one scene it goes from color to B&W. That left me scratching my head trying to figure out how you can go from present to future. And then it happens again at the very end when it goes from B&W to color. I couldn’t figure out exactly how it played with time as described by Jorge. Flyboy707 does mention in his review that it requires more than a casual viewing so it’s possible I wasn’t as involved in the viewing as I should have been.

I also agree with Flyboy707 that the “open your mind” sequence is amazing. My only comment here is that I felt it should have happened 30 seconds later. But the editing and new audio mix is outstanding.

Unfortunately the video isn’t very good. You’ll notice compression in many scenes. While not a deal breaker it would have been nice if the video was a bit crisper. This could be from whatever the source material is. I never saw the DVD version, and it’s been a couple of years since I watched my copy on BR. Perhaps a tweak of the video compression setting or a “BSOM v.2″ using a different source will help.

Overall, if you like “Total Recall” you should give this one a watch. Perhaps a second viewing will change my opinion on the overall story, but as of right now I think it is a little muddled if you’ve never seen “Total Recall”.

Entertainment: 7/10
Video: 6/10
Audio: 10/10

OVERALL: 8/10

this is the first jorge edit i've seen and as an faneditor there's some really good stuff within this edit, the flashback montage sequence being a particular highlight. however while total recall was already a complicated film this edit makes things even more complicated. i found things pretty hard to follow with the constant back and forth. i don't mind a story that's been told out of sequence but i couldn't help but feel disconnected between who was who. maybe the edit would have benefited with 5 or 10 mins extra just to show a better understanding of peoples motives and to get to know some of the characters sooner

overall an enjoyable edit but not one that i would return to

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.

This was a pretty kick ass fanedit. I wasn't really all that in love with the Mementomix but the parts that were excellent overshadowed the weaker parts easily.