Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2: Pruned Edition

This is one of those rare edits that turn a movie I strongly disliked into one I'll rewatch and enjoy again for years to come. The theatrical cut of this movie suffered terribly from lame and obnoxious jokes that never knew when to end, and which had a way of ruining good moments. This edit flows smoothly without it ever being slightly apparent that something is missing. I watched this with a friend who is a big fan of the original, and even he didn't notice anything missing. So I'd say all around it holds up very well.

That said, we did miss the full opening Marvel title and regret it being sped up. The video quality is, as the editor puts it, best enjoyed with the expectation of a softer HD experience, due to a lengthy conversion process. And there is one instance where I noticed a cut between scenes could be heard at the 40 minute mark. These nitpicks are nothing though when faced with such a vastly superior version of the film.

I haven't seen GOTG Vol. 2 since the cinema, so since its been almost a year between viewings, I had forgotten most of the jokes. This edit seemlessly removes most of those jokes without me noticing. I only remembered a few that were cut (Mantis being ugly, Nebula buying a new hat, Taserface, etc.) but I don't remember the majority. Somehow, RB has cut over 16 minutes of film, without feeling like anything is missing, which is something many fanedits
rarely do. One of my only complaints is that the audio sounded compressed, but the editor has talked about this. I only watched this on my TV without any fancy surround system, so I don't mind it being in 2.0 instead of 5.1.

Overall, a very well done first time edit that instantly replaces the theatrical version for me and I look forward to RB's future endevours.

This was a very necessary edit. It's harder to enjoy the movie with to many last minute jokes. Would suggest Ragnarok be Pruned next.

When GotG2 was announced I was apprehensive, but cautiously optimistic. I think the first Guardians might be the best movie Marvel has put out, and one of the best action adventure films in the last decade. With the sequel I think they built on the characters very well, but the movie still felt bloated. The filmmakers wanted make you feel the struggles of the characters, but it's like they had a specific ratio of jokes that they had to adhere to. Plus they had to include a lot of baby groot, the cute mascot of the film.

RB's edit fixes pretty much all of my problems with the film. He delivered on all his promises in the change list. Plus this edit is incredibly smooth! I never felt like a scene was too long, or too short. The deletion of few longer jokes and gags really helped sell the more dramatic moments. It's nothing too drastic but it made me take certain situations a bit more seriously. My only complaint is the audio. Fight scenes would be noticeably louder than dialogue or musical scenes. I wasn't turning the volume up and down constantly, so it wasn't that bad. Overall, the 'Pruned Edition' of GotG2 turns a fine sequel into leaner, meaner, more emotionally resonant sequel. As of right now, I prefer this version to the original. But I'll have to compare the two in depth to know for sure.