Review Detail
9.3 29 10
(Updated: September 02, 2012)
Enjoyment
10.0
This is a good movie. Not just good for a prequel or good for a fanedit but actually a good movie. For the first time ever I can understand why Ani turned to the dark side. In the original his motivation is a jumbled mess, but in L8′s edit we follow his descent caused by a desire for power. When Anakin is put in the Vader suit, I can actually identify him with the Vader we meet in A New Hope. That is really the highest praise I can give for this edit. Before, I had to consider the PT and OT as separate entities; there was no real connection for me on a plot, character, or emotional level. But, after finishing DOTE I couldn’t wait to put in ANH:Revisited.
Spoilers
Here is my one tiny complaint: it bothers me as a grammar nerd for “sweep” to be used twice in the opening crawl. I think “unprecedented powers” would be better than “sweeping powers.”
There is so much that is good about this edit, but I have to make special mention of two things: 1. The arrangement of scenes from the crash landing to when Obi leaves for Utapau is phenomenal. I love how it brings out Ani’s inner struggle over whether his loyalty is with the Jedi or Palpatine. It is abundantly clear in this edit how Palpatine plays on Ani’s frustrations while the Jedi just feed him platitudes and scoldings.
2. The final sequence from the end of Mustafar battle to sending Luke to Tatooine takes the movie to a new emotional level. Most of the dialogue is removed. The music and the visuals say more than enough. Lucas almost achieved this emotion until he sabotaged his own movie with “nooooo” and then killed all momentum with the Yoda, Bail, and Obi discussion on Tantive IV.
This leads to my one question/concern. I wonder how a person new to Star Wars would react to Palpatine’s face reveal and the cutting out of the Tantive IV dialogue. Both of these changes are great in my mind, but could they be confusing to someone else? I can hear them asking “what happened to his face” and “why doesn’t C3PO recognize Obi Wan or the name Skywalker in ANH?” But, it is also confusing as to why force lightening melts Palp’s face when it does nothing to Luke’s in ROTJ. And, I would rather have the 3PO plot hole than to destroy the flow of the final scenes.
On top of all this I really like the menu and the commentary.
Without a doubt this is 10 out of 10.
Spoilers
Here is my one tiny complaint: it bothers me as a grammar nerd for “sweep” to be used twice in the opening crawl. I think “unprecedented powers” would be better than “sweeping powers.”
There is so much that is good about this edit, but I have to make special mention of two things: 1. The arrangement of scenes from the crash landing to when Obi leaves for Utapau is phenomenal. I love how it brings out Ani’s inner struggle over whether his loyalty is with the Jedi or Palpatine. It is abundantly clear in this edit how Palpatine plays on Ani’s frustrations while the Jedi just feed him platitudes and scoldings.
2. The final sequence from the end of Mustafar battle to sending Luke to Tatooine takes the movie to a new emotional level. Most of the dialogue is removed. The music and the visuals say more than enough. Lucas almost achieved this emotion until he sabotaged his own movie with “nooooo” and then killed all momentum with the Yoda, Bail, and Obi discussion on Tantive IV.
This leads to my one question/concern. I wonder how a person new to Star Wars would react to Palpatine’s face reveal and the cutting out of the Tantive IV dialogue. Both of these changes are great in my mind, but could they be confusing to someone else? I can hear them asking “what happened to his face” and “why doesn’t C3PO recognize Obi Wan or the name Skywalker in ANH?” But, it is also confusing as to why force lightening melts Palp’s face when it does nothing to Luke’s in ROTJ. And, I would rather have the 3PO plot hole than to destroy the flow of the final scenes.
On top of all this I really like the menu and the commentary.
Without a doubt this is 10 out of 10.
T