Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode I: Army Of The Republic

First off, I should say that I’ve never watched a single episode of this series before watching Smudger's edit. I’d heard bad reviews of the initial movie (bad animation, bad voice sync, etc.), and then I heard that it was pretty childish overall (silly droids, etc.), so although I LOVE the SW universe, I decided to pass on this. Now with Ep. 7 coming out, I’ve been more willing to consume SW media, to get myself back into the mindset.

So, first the good:
This edit is AMAZING. The story is very cohesive, the whole movie seems very well put together and seamless. I couldn’t tell where any episodes started or ended. It was like a standalone movie, worthy of being an actual theatrical release. I was a little concerned about the 2 hours + running time at first, but the story was very well-paced, action packed, and there was never a boring lull. I suspect this has a lot to do with Smudger's editing.

The quibbles:
I’m not sure if Smudger could have fixed this, but the storyline about the old guy, 99, and Heavy, seemed a little rushed and not very realistic. The old guy has 1 conversation with Heavy, and that completely changes his mentality to be a team-leader and to give the old guy his medal? I’m not sure if Smudger deleted too much, or if there just wasn’t any character development to begin with. One other little thing, the dialogue sound seemed to drop a little in certain places. The only one I can remember off the top of my head is Grievous' first appearance, I couldn't understand what he said to the hologram.

A recommendation:
This is just a personal opinion, but the duel between Ventress and Anakin could have seriously used the same background music as the duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gonn, and Maul in TPM. Epic duels just scream for that music, and it would have made it much more emotionally impactful. Also, I would have liked some appearances by Padme, and some more of Count Dooku and Sidious/Palpatine. I’m not sure if that was in the source material that Smudger decided to take Episode 1 from, or if he is saving more of that for later.

All in all, this was extremely entertaining, and now I’m seriously interested in watching the original series. I'm really looking forward to more of Smudger's episodes; I have a strong feeling they will be better paced and not childish. I'll provide reviews for those as well.

Excellent work!

Edit: From reading the rest of the reviews, I may just decide to wait until Episode 2 comes out. I think I'll get a better experience consuming only Smudger's edits than going back and watching the episodes. I definitely don't want to be subjected to some stupid "Baby Hutt" kidnap stories.

Keep them coming, please!

What an amazing fanedit! Considering this is my first ever fan edit I've watched I was very amused. The story was very well done, mainly taking the main story arc of the film mixing it very well with the first few episodes of the series into a singular film. I actually liked this more than theatrical film. And if future films are like this one I'll continue being a fan!

Guess if there is a con it's the transitions, some of it felt like it jumped quickly to the next scene, but most of it was very small and almost nonexistent, can easily be overlooked.

I really can't wait for the 2nd installment.

This is a quite enjoyable and commendable edit. It doesn't quite work very well as a film - the structure's all off - but I suppose that's to be expected. This is built out of mainly episodic, 22 minute stories. Smudger9 tries his best to hide this by incorporating multiple episode arcs and having different storylines play at once, but the edit still, for the most part, ends up being made up of a number of small stories, each with their own climax. Some don't even seem necessary to the overall edit (the "Cat and Mouse" and "Grievous Intrigue" portions for example), though I understand why they were included. The issue is, once we get to the end and the real climax, it just doesn't feel as momentous as it should.

Still, if you take this edit as a shortened, rational compilation of episodes from the series, it works very well. I look forward to future installments by Smudger9.

Smudger9 has done what I had previously thought impossible: He made the earlier parts of The Clone Wars TV series into an enjoyable viewing experience. I have frequently expressed my deep-seated hatred for the beginning of the series, and was really surprised by what was done in this wonderful edit. I'll go through my favorite things about the edit before I get to my minor complaints.

Pros:
-What I really like in this edit is how smudger9 took multiple arcs and was able to mesh them into a single cohesive story.
-I found myself much more attached to characters (specifically the clones of Domino Squad) due to his editing.
-Some really awful story arcs were cut (Jabba's son, anyone?)
-Ashoka wasn't pushed to the front. While I have nothing against her, she wasn't important to the story of this edit and would've detracted from the plot.
-Most of the editing was extremely well done. It was barely noticeable mostly.

Cons:
-There were a couple of points where you could tell a conversation had been modified. It would have a slightly noticeable visual and audio glitch when it happened. However, it was rare.
-There was a poor ratio of action vs. character development, but I can understand this since most of the character development happens in cut story arcs. However, it would've been nice if a little more could've been preserved.

All in all, a wonderful edit that created a movie worthy of any Star Wars collection.

Wow. I'm in a separate boat when compared to most Star Wars fans when it comes to TCW, since I personally believe it is the best thing to come out of the prequels and possibly the entire star wars universe in general (yes, some story arcs I believe are better than the original trilogy). But I never could've put together an edit like Smudger9 did. For those of you who haven't normally seen the show, his flawless editing may seem almost nonexistent. But being a constant fan of the show, I was amazed at the way he weaved multiple story lines (spanning 3 different seasons) that originally had NOTHING to do with each other into one cohesive narrative. The only things I didn't enjoy came from being an avid fan of the show, so if you haven't seen TCW before you won't even care. I personally love the encounter with Cody and Grievous during "Grievous Intrigue" and am very unsure as to why you removed it. The other thing I missed was the removal of Fives/Echo's scene with 99 in which Heavy's badge is shown. I understand why it was removed as it wouldn't have fit with the pacing/narrative, but that is one of the more emotional scenes in the whole show, and for a show filled with mainly action scenes, those types of moments are far and few between. But I digress, as these are just my personal feelings and shouldn't effect anyone who has not seen TCW. Anyway, this is a fantastic edit, and just a couple of tweaks away from a perfect one IMO. Great job, and I really hope you don't pull a Q2 - Please continue with these fanedits!