Matrix Revolutions: The Epic Edition

OperaGuy June 26, 2011 @ 6:49 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

STANKPAC June 15, 2011 @ 10:15 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Watched the Epic Edition AVCHD last night without having watched the original versions for a long, long time (5 or 6 years). So I can’t really imagine what was cut and what not. Therefor no comments about the cutting, yet.
Just two points:
- Unfortunately the subway scene was cut, that is one of my favourites of the whole matrix trilogy.
- Unfortunately the Zion dance rave scene was NOT cut, that scene is boring and so cheeesy IMHO.

Picture Quality is amazing! I really couldn’t believe that I’m NOT watching a blu-ray.

Sound quality is very good, too, but sometimes dialog is a little too low for my old ears. Maybe it depends on the stereo downsampling from my blu-ray player to my stereo?

All in all the story comes out clear, there were two or three moments I thought “What now?”, mostly at the end of the film when there are several cuts between the differents plots.

Just point ot out: I like this edit very much. It has a safe place in my DVD-Map now (no space on the shelf left) beside the DeZIONized edit and the original first movie. Maybe it’s time for trashing the REVOLUTIONS and RELOADED originals?

Thank you for your stunning work!

Review by MR.LOVEBUCKET — April 14, 2012 @ 3:15 PM

VIDEO
I watched the magnificent AVCHD (stripped menus, just watched the m2ts file on my HTPC) and the picture quality is GLORIOUS.
10/10

AUDIO
Some has voiced concerns that the center channel is too low, but while the action gets very loud, the dialog is always very clear in my 5.1 system (Dolby Digital bitstream).
10/10

STUFF THAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I still hate the music in the first fight scene and would personally have changed it to something else. Maybe some tribal style music in the same style as the Neo/Serif fight? As the beat starts I find myself thinking I’m watching some MTV style trailer for the movie.

That horrible CGI in the over the top “Neo Vs. The Smiths” fight should be missed by nobody. I guess it must have been hard to trim out, but all the “hamster style” Kung Fu that consists of running round and round in a wheel consisting of Smith agents isn’t exactly like the Yen Woo Ping stuff that made the fights in the original movie so awesome.

Up to the point where Trinity falls out of the window with an agent shooting at her, I didn’t notice many cuts. Kudos. But also, here’s where I start to notice stuff. Not all is bad, but personally, I would have tried to limit the amount of fade to black/short/another fade to black by trying to tie all segments concerning each group of characters’ story arch witch clean cuts rather than keeping the fades. It almost felt like watching the end of Return Of The King. LOL. My girlfriend joined in on the watch here and she even went “WHAT IS UP!?” at those. Before that she was clueless about it being a Fan Edit and seemed to enjoy herself.

I also thought I’d mention that I noticed a glitchy looking cut right as Smith hammers Neo down into a hole of water and mud then going into the Zion command center.

CONCLUSION
This edit truly is EPIC, though I feel some of the action scenes could have been cut in half simply for pacing. I’ve always loved the highway fight/chase, but here I believe it was missing some stuff from the Theatrical? The Zion carnage with all the Sentinels, giant drill bot and whatnot could have been cut in half IMO, I didn’t time it but it feels like it’s going on forever. I’ve always felt like this about that part though.

I really LOVED this new ending, and this will be my preferred version to accompany the first film for sure. I would just have loved to have it 30 minutes shorter (see above for cutting suggestions). Also missing is the EPIC cleaveage Persephone sports in Revolutions. That was the highlight of the theatrical movie for me, so again, kudos on making this so much better. But the boobs should have stayed somehow.

The Architect showing up at the end is a bit of a wtf moment as he’s never seen before in this edit. Or I might have missed something?

EDITING SCORE 9/10

An overall score of 10/10 from me.

Review by emphatic — August 6, 2011 @ 12:40 AM

Matrix sequel fan edits are some of the more prevalent on this site. The Epic Edition is certainly going up against some steep competition. Despite the numerous others that have been made this one is now my personal favorite story wise.

First off the editing is near seamless, watching the film I am still amazed on how much was changed yet how little it shows unless you are familiar with the original sources.

Audio work, video work, image quality: all excellent. In terms of audio/visual presentation this easily is equal to or perhaps even surpasses the legendary Dezionized cut.

Now the actual edit was refreshingly new. There are some controversial choices in terms of scenes to keep. In a sense the Epic Edition goes against popular consensus in retaining minor characters, Zion, and the war scenes. As well as the infamous “Dance Scene” and “Heart Restart Scene”.

However do not let these factors dissuade you. Some edits try to make the film work by creating some sort of conclusion at the end of Reloaded. In my opinion Reloaded will always remain incomplete without a least partly including Revolutions. The challenge was creating an edit of the Revolutions material that removed or at least downplayed all that was wrong with the original. This is where the Epic Edition shines. By retaining minor characters that played a part in the war scenes, as well as removing the machine city/smith outside of the matrix scenes, the film takes on a completely different feel that is both faster and more cohesive then the originals.

The boldest edit was a completely different Source scene then the Architect’s office in Reloaded. To me it was pure awesomeness as well as an amazing technical feat. It works better than any edit prior that tried to remove the “multiple Ones” plot twist which nearly everyone hated.

Nitpicking wise I feel that the ending would have been better with the inclusion of one scene. A scene from the beginning of Revolutions with Neo in a coma. Perhaps with some sort of music change to create a different mood such a scene would establish his death a little more clearly then the end Smith battle does.

Also, while I can understand the reason for including the dance scene, I feel the scene is still a little too “in your face” symbolism which was one of the Wachowski brothers main stumbling blocks. Reducing instead of eliminating the dance scene would still have established the main contrast between the Matrix and the real world without that contrast being over emphasized.

The heart restart scene did not bother me. It works surprisingly well in the context of this edit.

There are many fan edits for the Matrix sequels out there. But this is now my solid favorite. Amazing Job!
9/10

Review by LostInTime — June 21, 2011 @ 12:52 AM