Clone Wars: Refocused, The

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10.0
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Now, this is far from your typical fanedit. We have here an incredibly intricate, multifaceted, living project which allows the viewer total latitude as to what is going to be seen, how, and when.

I myself have to say this very latitude is worth an incredible amount, as I myself am forever attached to smudger9’s five magnificent film edits, and so then, without missing a beat, pick up on season 3.

Clone Wars is a flawed masterpiece of storytelling (the best kind?), making sure we are swept along its arc dutifully. Eddie has here captured the essence of it: no “news on the March” narration, but instead a very compelling opening, musical accompaniment setting the stage. This is the Way.

Clone Wars had an assumed tendency to silliness, jettisoned here. We have instead a lean, hard vision, and while we have those battle droids still to contend with (“uh…sir…”) and some dialogue that’s a real scream (“I sense Dooku’s dirty hand in this!” - Padme), it’s all part of the journey.

From seasons 3 to 5 here, I’m not the biggest on the banking clan and “politics of war” eps, but the beauty is being able to create your own. Eddie has fashioned it so no matter your path, you’ll still end up with your breath stolen away at that finale. It’s as good as ever (*Eddie, any way you could cut to a reverent black for 10 seconds or so after that final shot before the credits?)

One of the newest pleasures of fan editing I have encountered. Bravo and thanks, indeed, Eddie, for sharing the journey. My daughter and I just finished the finale and she was absolutely blown away. Star Wars is inevitably part of her life, and your presentation of this story is one that should be introduced to everyone this new generation.

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Overall rating
 
10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
I tried and failed to watch the clone wars a couple of times, it was just awkward and kind of boring for me.
This edit not only made it easier to watch clone wars but it did it so well, by the end I have gained so much. A far better understanding and appreciation for Anakin and a massive amount of love for Ahsoka. I am really glad I got to see this.
I can't possibly comment on the ins and outs of the edit, since I have not seen the original past the first episode, but the spreadsheet and presentation is just awesome. The music is by far a very big cherry on the cake. The new music really does set the mood far better than the original theme tune for the clone wars.
I can't express my gratitude enough.
I only have one gripe. The dialogue is hard to understand in noisy scenes, it really does need subtitles if humanly possible.

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Owner's reply February 10, 2024

Good news! Subtitles are coming soon!

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(Updated: November 20, 2023)
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10.0
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10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
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10.0
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10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I haven't watched the Clone Wars in years so I'm coming at this with more or less fresh eyes. I've only watched season 1 so far, but it's fabulous! Removing the cheesy scenes and episodes, and then restructuring it makes it so enjoyable! And moving some of the major storylines earlier and then having the themes run through the whole series is really really good. I can't imagine how much organizing it took to restructure it to this level (I'm picturing a wall full of red thread and sticky notes, like a crime board!). Thank you for all your hard work, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest!

EDITED TO ADD: I just finished all the seasons and this is phenomenal! The editor took away all the silly cheesy, annoying things (but not all the humour) and turned this into an absolute epic. The build up to the inevitable end was just heart-breaking, but in a stunningly good way.

Yes, there were some scenes and dialogue (especially in the earlier) episodes that were still kind of painful, but they were shorter and were the fault of the original material, not the editing. I also loved the new introductory and closing music and the artwork at the end. Overall, this was much more adult storytelling and...just better in every way.

This will be my go-to version forever more! Thank you for all your hard work!

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Yes
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Digital
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Overall rating
 
10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
(Note: Only fully watched the 1st season, will update this review as I complete more seasons)
Audio/Video Quality (10/10) - Looked and sounded great, had the Blu-Ray quality in here :)

Visual & Audio Editing (10/10) - Editing was top tier :)

Narrative (10/10) - Story became more focused, less cringe, and the most best parts of the original were enhanced in this edit :)

Enjoyment (10/10) - Enjoyed this edit quite a lot, way more then the original tv show.
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I recommend this fan edit :)
Thank you for this fan edit!
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Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This was a slightly difficult review, as I both wanted to be fair but also truthful. I really struggled to determine how many points to take off for issues, but that's partially due to the sheer scale of this edit. Sure, I noticed issues every once in a while, but how numerous were they in relation to the total number of edits?

So, here's the review: this edit is the best way to watch this show. Start to end, it strengthens the weak points and highlights the existing strengths. It cuts out a lot of fat and is, for the most part, seamless in its edits. It's what those of us who love the show already remember watching, and what those who couldn't get into it needed in order to have a chance to get into it.

To begin, some favorite bits:

- The decision to use the Mandalore story as a narrative spine is very good - it is definitely already a central story of the show (as evidenced by the finale), so this decision makes that more evident.
- The structure of each season is a huge improvement over the original show.
- It's just... fun to watch this way. So much of it just feels like how the show should have been, so it's almost hard to find individual things to highlight because when the edit is at its best, you're not noticing it.

However, I have the following criticisms:

- There are a few really harsh edits - some of them visual, but most often audio (especially at the ends of episodes). The audio edits are definitely far more noticeable than the video edits. I definitely understand how difficult some of the edits are to make, but I really hope we see some improvements in future versions! These are what hold the edit back from feeling completely polished.
- I'm not a big fan of the use of the Cinematic Captures video for the Anakin/Obi discussion. I find it very distracting to have such a huge shift in animation style in-episode. This isn't a deal-breaker at all, but I would love an alternate cut.
- I would love an extended cut of the Mortis arc. I know it's not for everyone, but I think too much was cut out, to the point where it almost feels more like watching a recap than the actual story.
- Others have mentioned it, but the Domino to Rookies cut is a little abrupt. This is easily my smallest complaint (as, on the flip side, it actually does a much better job than the original show at making it clear these are the same clones).
- The senate hostage inclusion in the holocron heist doesn't completely make sense to me. I know this isn't the only edit to combine them in this way, but it left me a little confused. Why did Cad Bane bother with the hostages? If it were a distraction, why weren't the different operations going on at the same time? I know that the reason is "these are separate episodes that were combined", but it'd be nice if this could be a little cleaner somehow.

I want to be as clear as possible that the above criticisms are not reasons to not watch this edit. This is the best way to watch the show - the flaws of this edit are, frankly, nowhere near as significant as the flaws of the original show. Further, this edit is still ongoing! I just checked the document today and noticed there was a brand new hour-long episode available. I'm confident that this edit will be near flawless by the time EddieDean hangs up his hat. I will return to this review when we reach that point!

To EddieDean: thanks for your hard work on this! I can't imagine the hours that must have gone into this project, but they have surely paid off.

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Owner's reply June 25, 2023

Thanks very much for the review - that's all very fair!

Regarding some of your valid criticisms-
- I'm always eager to polish noticeable video and audio edits, if you (or anyone else reading this) spots any that stand out, let me know in the forum thread (ideally with timecodes).
- I think you're right on the Cinematic Captures content. A few have said this. What I'll do (when I next have time for a polish pass) is cut that out of the episode, so the full episode is just the normal style, and simply add a link to the CC video on Youtube as a separate item in the list.
- I'm personally very happy with my trims to Mortis - I think it makes it much more of an inexplicit vision built on dream logic, but I have heard the same. I plan to release a few optional extended versions of some episodes - and I'll do the same for this.
- I've also heard the same regarding the Rookies/Cadets/Troopers trilogy. I wanted to give the characters a bit more of an arc, but people have found those cuts a bit too severe. I'll look to replace this with one that adheres a bit more closely to the original structure, losing more of the arc but making for a smoother experience. And rather than explicitly call out the time skip, I guess I'll just wipe into it, and just imply it instead.
- As for the hostage/holocron episode, there's not too much I can do here.. Ultimately it needs to be read as a distraction to cause Republic security services to go into disarray, but I agree that ideally that would be a little more clear. It's unfortunate, but I think on balance we're still extracting the most quality from the source material this way.

Either way, many thanks for your input, and I'm really glad you're enjoying it!

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