Star Wars - Episode III: Dawn of the Empire

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

The editing is superb…hard cuts: gone. Audio: Great…video: amazing quality…the edits…

This movie started out amazingly, but it started to fade out in spots…certain things were left in that were gone in other edits that I was really happy about were left in this edit:

The Grevious body armor “duh” moment, The stupid lightsaber twirling and force pushing, and even the smidgeon of Vader rotating up on the table during the birth of Vader scene is entirely unwelcome, Chewbacca is still in there (that was a terrible scene to begin with), and the Palpatine suddenly all white and wrinkled for no reason left me scratching my head…there were a couple other minor niggles, scene-wise, but they didn’t matter too much.

On the good side, though, some of the edits were mind-blowing…like the way the Anakin/Obi Wan and Yoda/Palpatine fights were edited together, the opening space battle was unreal, the Boga sounds were all new and incredibly cool…there were many, many cool edits in this that made me smile.

I hate to bring up other editors in a review, but if Stankpac’s and JasonN’s versions were this beautifully refined, I would have to go with theirs.

So…

Audio: Amazing – 10/10

Video: Amazing (like REALLY amazing) – 10/10

Editing quality: Amazing – 10/10

Editing Choices: Sorry…( 6/10…just because some of my most hated scenes were left intact.

Overall, I have to give it a 7/10

Even with the amazing audio, video and editing quality, this isn’t my go-to version…perhaps with some tweaking, it will be.

Great job, overall!!!

*******Updated May 13, 2012********
Heyo again…

After re-reading my earlier post, I realized how negative it seemed. I was very distracted and rushed while I wrote it, so it came across as overly harsh, and I have to apologize.

While there were the parts I mentioned that didn’t work for me, my review overshadowed what a truly amazing edit L8WRTR has put together. The audio and video editing was flawless, and I mean FLAWLESS. Quite honestly, it was a technical marvel to behold.

If lucas had put as much love into HIS versions as L8WRTR, he would not have lost the long-time fans that he did.

Just because this edit wasn’t completely to my tastes, it really doesn’t deserve the drubbing I gave it earlier.

Keep up your amazing work L8WRTR!!!

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.

Spectacular, perfect, unbelievable, definitive. (I expect that on the 10th Anniversary cover!)

From the moment Padme and Anakin meet, through the end credits, L8wrtr has crafted the undisputed best Star Wars prequal ever made. He has saved Hayden Christensen’s performance. Anakin is not creepy and we only ever feel FOR him. Somehow he has managed to make the politics engaging and most importantly interesting. You are no longer sitting around waiting for the action to begin. You will actually care about even the driest of scenes. I never thought the Lizard squawks were a big deal until I saw this edit. Now I will not be able to stand the original scene. Thanks :/

What I loved most about this edit is how conflicted it made me feel. Like Tyler Durden in Fight Club, Emperor Palpatine is just too persuasive. You end up rooting FOR the bad guy. I actually found him to be the sane one, while the Jedi came off as confused and misguided by poor and impulsive judgment. Conversely, the Emperor appeared to know what he was doing. This tone shift was startling yet awesome. By making me believe Palpatine and question the Jedi, it made Anakin’s fall almost forgivable. I felt as if I would have made the same decision standing in his shoes. That thought sent chills down my spine.

I must also praise the technical quality of the deleted scenes. The birth of the rebellion scenes looked perfect. They add so much to the movie. The Yoda one was not as crisp, but completely forgivable. Dagobah is foggy. I disagree with another review and personally believe the Order 66 scene really worked well. I am very fond of L8wrtr’s work and would not change the scene in any way. Losing the ‘high ground’ line was a little disappointing at first, but after a quick reconsideration I completely agree with the choice. The scene works so much better when every action is an impulse. Please never add the naming of the babies. I was conflicted if the twins line should have stayed, but everything worked out for the best. It is clear much though was put into each decision. The audience will know Luke has a sibling, but not who. The idea of a mystery buried in the story intrigues me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for leaving what you did of the Yoda/Palpatine fight. Well done. I hope the hippity hoppity yoda doesn’t bug too many people. It shouldn’t.

But L8wrtr already knows he has a virtually perfect edit. So I tried my hardest to find complaints, because gushing about how amazing this is won’t get anyone anywhere. Plus all the other reviewers have already covered the fact that this THE definitive copy of ‘Revenge of the Sith.’ Consider everything below pedantic and negative for the sake of constructive criticism.

First and foremost, this edit is still missing a Han space pirate cowboy type character. If you could, contact Ryan Gosling and have some extra scenes filmed, that would be great. Some alpha male quips would really add to the charm of the movie. But this actually does segue into one of my biggest criticism. Personally for me there was too much dialogue cut, especially some early crash humor and a line or two of angry emotion during the final hero clash. Star Wars needs a bad one liner or two to make it a Star Wars movie. L8wrtr took them all out. As for too much cutting, there was one quick cut in-between Yoda scenes back to the lava, where the lava fight felt a tad too short (1:32:50-1:33:04). Merging the first Yoda duct crawling scene with the second fixes this ‘issue’ I have.

I may have kept a little more verbal confrontation towards the end of the lava fight, but the movie is fine without it. I would have liked to see a constructed exchange containing “I should have known the Jedi were trying to take over” followed by “You are lost.” Ewan McGregor really steals every single scene he is present for, I hate to see his pain and internal torture cut from the movie. So while Hayden Christensen gains so much by sitting on the cutting room floor, Obi-wan’s pain is slightly reduced. If I had to choose which is more important, I would vote saving Anakin from bad acting every time.

Now for the blasphemy. The L8wrtr edit still does not have the best opening action sequence. It is my opinion that said title is still held by AEmovieguy, from his intro through Anakin and Padme meeting and talking babies. AEmovieguy accomplishes in 13:27 what takes L8wrtr 16:40 (17:10 with the intro card.) AEmovieguy’s pacing feels stronger, gets you to the plot quicker, and makes everything through the crash landing one great action scene. He also manages to keep a little banter the characters so desperately need. His breakneck pace makes it actually seem as if a time constrained rescue mission is under way. AEmovieguy’s addition of radio communication over the first dog fight flight is necessary and should be emulated. After killing Dooku, when Palpatine says “there is no time” the arguing is better left cut. I think cutting the Emperor’s most overtly manipulative lines from the begining helps keep the plot turn more engaging and heartbreaking.

I have previously stated AEmovieguy’s dialogue tricks (interruptions) should become standard practice in all Revenge of the Sith edits. I especially love two bits of dialogue AEmovieguy has modified so that Obi and Anakin cut each other off (“too late…jump”,” and “tenth….ninth time.”) These lines serve to show the two as buddies who can finish each other’s sandwiches. This effect gives off the impression that the two have had these conversations before, and already know how their discussions will end. The reason I like Obi/Anakin dialogue interruptions is because it makes the loss of their friendship all the more painful. Lastly, while I am comparing fanedits, the Kerr influence is strong in L8wrtr’s cut. As it should be. AEmovieguy’s cannot surpass L8wrtr’s without emulating the backbone of such a revolutionary plot restructure. Props to Kerr.

Moving on. Next we have the tecchnical department. (Tecchnical was spelled wrong in the end credits.) The opening crawl has the word sweep after sweeping. I think “swoop into the capital” sounds more correct. The word ‘has’ should be removed from before the word ‘ordered.’ Also, ‘rescue him’ would be better as ‘his recue.’ As you can tell I am forced to get pretty nitpicky to find fault in this edit. I have a very very short cutlist. When Mace shows up to arrest the Emperor, I would have liked to see the Emperor flying spin move go, but I understand such an edit is near impossible to pull off. I personally did not like the second dream and would prefer it cut. It just didn’t work for me. This is completely my personal preference and in no way should it affect your enjoyment of this masterpiece.

And that is it. I am giving this movie a 10/10 both because of technical quality (literal perfection) and its ability to save Anakin’s character. No other edit is as successful. I didn’t dislike him once the entire time watching the movie. Most edits leave in one too many bad lines. L8wrtr erred on the side of caution and didn’t risk it. That decision pays off tremendously. Not once did I miss a scene or line until long after it had passed. I apologize for not yet consuming the commentary or menus, as I reencoded \BDMV\STREAM0011.m2ts into a 7.77GB mp4/h.264/aac file and threw it on the PS3. If I ever get around to playing the blu-ray directly I will update the review to include my thoughts on the menu and bonus features.

This edit inspired me to create a L8wrtr/AEmovieguy hybredit cut akin to the ADigitalMan/Darth Editous Hybrid which inspired Adywan. Between these two edits lies every single change which would make Revenge of the Sith itself a 10/10 movie (not just a 10/10 fanedit.) In fact, having seen AEmovieguy’s work, his fanedit is the only thing in the way of me declaring this fanedit a work which could not possibly be improved upon. Dawn of the Empire could be successfully defended as the best Star Wars movie, period. What more do you need to hear?