Review Detail
8.9 7 10
(Updated: November 27, 2016)
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
I'm just shy of saying "finally a perfect edit" on this one mainly because of the opening. Really, that's the biggest ding I have on this edit...beyond that, it's damn near perfect. But it's an annoyance enough to warrant knocking 1 point off the enjoyment scale because it's an issue to me.
Why? Because I'm not a fan at all of editors inserting the completely unnecessary supplemental footage from the TED talk and Shaw communication. I don' know why people insist on doing that. Neither of those things have a place in the film, especially the TED talk. They're so out of place for what amounts to an "Alien" movie. And they're followed by a very lengthy sequence of space shots from Tree of Life that just goes on for too long. I kept expecting it to move forward with the movie but that sequence kept going for a while.
What would I do to fix this edit's opening (if I had any editing skills)? I would open with the original black screen slowly spelling out the title, fading in to the space shot of the ship bolting through space, the text scroll spelling out the ship name and crew, then go into David's intro. That's it. That's all the opening this movie needs. And from there just go into this cut of the film. Perfection.
Anyways, outside of my big gripe on the opening, I would say that this is the best paced cut of the movie I've seen so far. When the shit hits the fan, it happens all at once and with perfect timing. With only minor plot issues near the end that just can't be fixed (Shaw's event) as far as I can tell because there is no existing footage to fill in that gap. Regardless, this is a fantastic edit.
For the 720p release: Video quality is mostly very good, but there were some points where artifacts plopped in and some blurring and banding happened, but overall it was solid. No audio issues that I noticed.
I finally grabbed the BD25 of this edit in full 1080p, and it looks gorgeous. I recommend that option if you have the bandwidth and space. I actually took the time to learn how to edit and ripped the BD and cut out that opening sequence I didn't like, and recompiled the film and I'm in heaven. Great edit made even better IMO. :)
Why? Because I'm not a fan at all of editors inserting the completely unnecessary supplemental footage from the TED talk and Shaw communication. I don' know why people insist on doing that. Neither of those things have a place in the film, especially the TED talk. They're so out of place for what amounts to an "Alien" movie. And they're followed by a very lengthy sequence of space shots from Tree of Life that just goes on for too long. I kept expecting it to move forward with the movie but that sequence kept going for a while.
What would I do to fix this edit's opening (if I had any editing skills)? I would open with the original black screen slowly spelling out the title, fading in to the space shot of the ship bolting through space, the text scroll spelling out the ship name and crew, then go into David's intro. That's it. That's all the opening this movie needs. And from there just go into this cut of the film. Perfection.
Anyways, outside of my big gripe on the opening, I would say that this is the best paced cut of the movie I've seen so far. When the shit hits the fan, it happens all at once and with perfect timing. With only minor plot issues near the end that just can't be fixed (Shaw's event) as far as I can tell because there is no existing footage to fill in that gap. Regardless, this is a fantastic edit.
For the 720p release: Video quality is mostly very good, but there were some points where artifacts plopped in and some blurring and banding happened, but overall it was solid. No audio issues that I noticed.
I finally grabbed the BD25 of this edit in full 1080p, and it looks gorgeous. I recommend that option if you have the bandwidth and space. I actually took the time to learn how to edit and ripped the BD and cut out that opening sequence I didn't like, and recompiled the film and I'm in heaven. Great edit made even better IMO. :)
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Blu-Ray
J