Review Detail
9.6 4 10
Overall rating
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
There was certainly a bit of controversy over my review of the first version of this edit. I just wanted to pop in and say that nearly all the issues I mentioned with that edit have been fixed and the edit has been improved tenfold. My review is based on the .mkv version.
Video - Flawless. The HD source looks great. The previous version zoomed the picture in remove characters, but this one removes them completely from the frame without zooming. Spectacular. You wouldn't notice that anything was off in the scene unless you were specifically looking for it. The only thing I could say about the video overall was that there was a slight bit of purple fringing in a couple of the very bright scenes, usually around a character that was in front of a white background. Barely noticeable.
Audio - Perfect. The previous version was not true 5.1. This one is.
Editing - Seamless. No issues whatsoever.
Story - The removal of Philip and Isabelle works perfectly. They were never necessary to the plot and were annoying, uninteresting characters. The film is better for it. Moving the execution to the beginning works great and it pulls you right into the story. Although, I don’t think it quite serves to make the ending less depressing because I always found the ending of Bruce leading the army at Bannockburn right after the martyrdom of Wallace to be quite uplifting. Nevertheless, it works well. I always enjoyed the childhood scenes, but they were not essential to the plot and their removal improves the pace. A lot of confusion in the first edit came from references to childhood events that the audience had no knowledge of ("I shoulda remembered the rocks") and thankfully most of that has been removed. The dialogue between Murron and Wallace is still awkward ("Every single day I thought about you") because the audience has no knowledge that they knew each other as children. This, and the fact that Longshanks still has a very minor role and is introduced very late in the edit are the only real negatives I can say about this.
Overall, this is a great edit. It won't replace the original (and it was not intended to) but is a very interesting take on a great movie. Kudos to Boon for having the skill and dedication to improve on his original edit.
9/10
Video - Flawless. The HD source looks great. The previous version zoomed the picture in remove characters, but this one removes them completely from the frame without zooming. Spectacular. You wouldn't notice that anything was off in the scene unless you were specifically looking for it. The only thing I could say about the video overall was that there was a slight bit of purple fringing in a couple of the very bright scenes, usually around a character that was in front of a white background. Barely noticeable.
Audio - Perfect. The previous version was not true 5.1. This one is.
Editing - Seamless. No issues whatsoever.
Story - The removal of Philip and Isabelle works perfectly. They were never necessary to the plot and were annoying, uninteresting characters. The film is better for it. Moving the execution to the beginning works great and it pulls you right into the story. Although, I don’t think it quite serves to make the ending less depressing because I always found the ending of Bruce leading the army at Bannockburn right after the martyrdom of Wallace to be quite uplifting. Nevertheless, it works well. I always enjoyed the childhood scenes, but they were not essential to the plot and their removal improves the pace. A lot of confusion in the first edit came from references to childhood events that the audience had no knowledge of ("I shoulda remembered the rocks") and thankfully most of that has been removed. The dialogue between Murron and Wallace is still awkward ("Every single day I thought about you") because the audience has no knowledge that they knew each other as children. This, and the fact that Longshanks still has a very minor role and is introduced very late in the edit are the only real negatives I can say about this.
Overall, this is a great edit. It won't replace the original (and it was not intended to) but is a very interesting take on a great movie. Kudos to Boon for having the skill and dedication to improve on his original edit.
9/10
A